You Gain Health Benefits from Exercising for a Minimum of?

You gain health benefits from exercising for a minimum of…? Exercises especially for the elderly cannot be over-emphasized.

It is one of the many yet very important activities that could, not just improve health, but also increase longevity.

What is Exercise?

Exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons to:

1. Aid growth
2. Improve strength and develop muscles
3. Prevents aging
4. Improve health
5. Hone athletic skills
6. Improve cardiovascular system
7. Weight loss or maintenance or weight gain

Physical exercises are generally grouped into three (3) types and this is dependent on the effects they have on the human body.

 

Read also: Reasons to Keep Fit and Active | 9 Health Benefits

 

Aerobic Exercise

is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups causing the body to use more oxygen as such helping these muscles to burn fuel or move.

The aim of aerobic exercise is to increase cardiovascular endurance, and it provides the following benefits:

1. It lowers blood pressure.
2. It improves muscles strength in the heart, lungs, and whole body.
3. It increases the red blood cell count to enhance oxygen transportation.
4. It stimulates bone growth and reduces the risk of osteoporosis when at high intensity.
5. It enhances stamina by increasing the body’s ability to store energy molecules, such as fat and carbohydrates, within the muscle.
6. It reduces the risks of diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
7. It improves circulation and blood flow in the muscles.

Examples of aerobic exercise include:

1. Running
2. Swimming
3. Dancing
4. Cycling
5. Hiking
6. Skipping ropes
7. Playing tennis
8. Brisk walking
   
   

Read also: Pet Care | Sports And Recreation Emotional Benefits to Your Pet

 

Anaerobic Exercise

This is a physical activity that does not use oxygen for energy. This exercise is used to build power, strength, and increase muscle mass as well as improve balance coordination and density.

Anaerobic exercises are high-intensity activities as such do not last longer than three (3) minutes.

The following are benefits that come with this exercise;

1. Increase in bone strength and density
2. Increase in the lactic threshold
3. It fights depression and
4. It helps to boost energy and metabolism

Examples of anaerobic exercise include;

1. Weight lifting
2. High-intensity interval training
3. Lunges
4. Bench press
5. Squats
6. Push-ups
7. Pull-ups
8. Interval training
9. Eccentric training
10. Sprinting.

 

Agility Training

This type of physical activity is performed to improve one’s ability to maintain control while speeding up, slowing down, and changing direction.

People who take part in sports that heavily rely on coordination, speed, balance, and position need to engage themselves in regular agility training. The following sports require agility;

1. Tennis
2. American football
3. Volleyball
4. Soccer
5. Badminton
6. Basketball
7. Wrestling
8. Handball
9. Hockey

 

You gain health benefits from exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes per week?

You gain health benefits from exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes per week, physical exercise is important for physical fitness and can also contribute to maintaining a healthy weight.

Also, regulating the digestive system, building and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, promoting physiologic well-being, strengthening the immune system, and reducing surgical risks.

The body’s main physiological support systems are the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, immune, nervous, digestive, respiratory, and endocrine systems.

Cardiovascular system: The heart, along with blood vessels form a network that carries blood, containing oxygen and nutrients to the body and removes waste (carbon dioxide).

When one engages in physical activity or training, it strengthens the heart and normalizes blood pressure thereby lowering the risks of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, etc.

Physical activity also improves the muscle’s ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, as such reducing the need for the heart to pump more to the muscles.

It also helps to lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels. There is also a direct correlation between physical inactivity and cardiovascular disease, as physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease.

Immune System: The blood vessels are supported by the lymph vessels and nodes (which are the immune cells).

Exercise boosts lymph flow, thus promoting a healthy immune system (which is crucial for fighting infections) and making it easier for immune cells and other infection-fighting molecules to travel more easily throughout the body.

Physical activity during aging acts by promoting the activity of the immune system, including T and B lymphocytes.

Musculoskeletal System: The skeleton is a supporting framework that protects the body and its vital organs.

The bones act as a reservoir for calcium and other minerals. Physical exercise helps to increase muscle strength, coordination, and balance.

The muscles benefit from weight lifting and other exercises that make the body stronger.

Digestive system and nutrition: The digestive system breaks down food into usable nutrients and eliminates waste products.

Physical exercise contributes to the proper functioning of the digestive system and aids the elimination of wastes.

Along with diets, exercise plays a role in controlling weight and preventing obesity. Physical exercise also helps remove lactate from the blood more quickly, and removing lactate from circulation allows for an easy decline in body temperature, which can also benefit the immune system as a drop in temperature after physical exercise would make the body vulnerable to minor illness.

Respiratory system: The lungs provide the body with oxygen which is necessary for cellular survival. Exercise increases the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the body and contributes to the elimination of carbon dioxide.

In the respiratory system, the effect of exercise is seen almost immediately.

Nervous and endocrine systems: The nervous system consists of the brain and nerves. Its function is to receive, store, process, and send information.

It also controls functions such as heart rate and breathing as well as motor movement. Physical exercise helps calm the nervous system and enhances the system through the creation of new neural pathways.

This results from the nerves and increased communication between your central nervous system and muscles as such also resulting in better coordination from these new connections.

The endocrine system is closely associated with the nervous system. It sends hormones to the body to control growth, blood sugar levels, body temperature, and metabolism.

Exercise helps in regulating hormones such as insulin, testosterone, and growth hormone which helps to maintain the integrity of muscle, bone, and connective tissues.

During exercise, the body also releases chemicals called endorphins which controls mood by increasing a feeling of well-being.

Conclusion

The health benefits of exercise cannot be emphasized enough especially for the elderly. For a healthy life, participating in physical activity is very essential and could increase longevity.

About The Author