Exercise – The Real Wonder Drug [Fitness article]

 

 

Exercise

:

The Real Wonder Drug

A review and reminder

 

Exercise is good for the mind and for the body.

It sharpens the mind and boosts mood.

It provides energy and a sense of mastery.

It improves the quality of your sleep so you wake up

Feeling better rested.

 

It keeps the heart and blood vessels in working order.

It protects against such common conditions as diabetes.

It is invaluable in weight control.

 

Now comes more good news:

Intense exercise may curb your sweet tooth.

Animal studies show that exercise decreases preference for sweetness.

 

Scientists aren’t sure why exercise has this effect.

It may be that intense activity revs up endorphins

And related substances in your brain,

And that powerfully positive blast of pleasure

Might decrease the need for satisfying food.

 

The danger for athletes is that such an effect

Might keep them from consuming enough

Food to replace calories lost in exertion.

But most of us have no such problem.

 

And there’s more good news…

Long-term exercise

Improves your immune system with 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Three times a week, adults strengthened not only their muscles

But the immune system’s first line of defense against viral infection.

 

Blood tests showed them to have more active natural killer cells.

 

They had no such boost in immune function

If they exercised for only three months.

 

It took 11 months of working out to impact the immune system.

 

The results were especially important because the exercisers

Were older adults. The researchers say the study demonstrates

How a little exercise can help people maintain their health

And independence with advancing age.

 

And that leads directly to other new findings.

For example, working out is great,

But when you stop doing it,

You lose the benefits.

 

As the saying goes, use it or lose it.

 

When you stop exercising, you lose not only the physical benefits,

But the psychological benefits as well.

 

In this case, researchers looked at adults with lung disease

And found that after just 10 weeks of exercising —

 

Doing aerobic workouts,

Strength training and

Stretching three times a week

 

– there were significant gains mentally and physically.

Exercisers boosted high-level cognitive abilities and were

Better able to maintain train of thought.

They also showed fewer signs of depression and anxiety.

 

If they kept on exercising, they maintained the benefits,

But there were no subsequent gains in mental or physical function

Even if they kept up the good work for a year.

There comes a point where the gains max out.

 

However, those who stopped exercising returned

To their original, pre-study level of functioning.

They lost all they had gained.

 

No matter what, you just have to keep up the physical activity

To get the benefits.

 

And don’t expect a single bout of exercise to do much good,

At least for your sleep.

 

If exercise isn’t habitual, a single period of exertion

– whether it’s aerobic exercise or resistance-type exercise

– can actually disrupt your sleep.

 

If losing weight is one of the benefits you seek,

Then studies show your exercise has to consist of

Aerobic and calorie-burning activities,

Such as

 

Walking,

Jogging,

Swimming or

Bicycle riding.

 

Weight training offers many benefits —

 

Like building muscle and strength,

Boosting immunity,

Reducing the risk of low-back injury —

 

But by itself it won’t burn enough calories to promote much weight loss.

 

So get into the habit

.

Choose an activity that you like and

One you can keep on doing.

And just keep going at a nice steady pace.

 

cheers,
Bobby Wan

This Is Your Personal “Tune Up”

 Every working thing, at some point needs to be tweaked, adjusted or altered to improve performance. After a while without attention the system starts to play up.Take your own car for example. Every 5000 klms it’s recommended you do a basic tune and every 10,000 klms a major adjustment.

This does two things:

i)         To repair any small problem that can become major
ii)        To prevent anything adverse from happening and maintain good running order of your vehicle.

            Herein lies the biggest advantage to tuning up; PREVENTION.

Our body and mind are important parts of our make-up. In our day to day runnings we continue to ask substantially of ourselves mentally and emotionally.

You may be oblivious to this as you (sub-consciously) tick over like a machine. Eventually the machine needs to be turned off, cooled down and allowed to rest to get its nutrition and maintenance.

We need to keep our mind in top condition and optimize our performance. So – read widely and educate yourself on your area of interest (and expertise) making sure you seek out differing points of view from various authors to give you a more encompassing overview of your topic of interest. This keeps you sharp and alert as well as more in control of your direction.

You are really nourishing your mind here with quality information.

Don’t over do it. Over doing it is a surefire recipe for disaster (just like doing nothing). Everything in moderation.

Absolutely everything. You’ll know if and when you are over doing it as you’ll be pushing yourself to a level where it becomes a chore rather than fun.

It is only prudent to enjoy what you do unconditionally. If you do it will seldom become a chore; and pushing yourself could simply be equated to playing another round of golf or a set of tennis (assuming you enjoy either).

Breaking your routine is virtually mandatory. There are very few people who can simply survive on raw energy continuously. Even if you are one who can, your performance will gradually decline after an extended period.

Breaking your routine comprises; but by no means exhausts all possibilities:

i)         Mixing with different people
ii)        Traveling another way to work
iii)       Trying out new sports and/or social activities
iv)       Incorporate newness into your family and professional Lives

Your tune up will cleanse you and wash away the stress that slowly accumulates over a period of time. Stress delivers the message to you that a grease and oil change and a tune up are required. If you are very stressed then a re-building of your engine may prove to be more than worthwhile.

Listen to your body and listen to your mind. If you’re not firing on all four cylinders it won’t magically repair itself!

You may need to install something like Norton System Works to watch over your system. In this case it is your own awareness to understanding your needs and how you go about executing them that will maintain your mental fitness and go, yet another, step closer to achieving your vision and goals.

After all we only get one lifetime and we owe it to ourselves to get as much as we possibly can from it. To do this we must give more than we take. Our mental fitness plays a huge roll in this and demands the respect it deserves. Tune yourself up regularly as well as maintaining your vision and determination and you will begin placing more ticks beside your goals and desires as “Undertaken & Completed”.

cheers,
BobbyWan