Regular Exercise Is The Most Important Part Of A Healthy Lifestyle
Fitness is a condition of well-being and bodily health and, more specifically, the capacity to do daily physical tasks and parts of strenuous sports without suffering any injuries. Maintaining fitness is usually done through regular physical activity, proper nutrition and enough rest. Having a healthy body will prevent you from becoming obese and will help you avoid medical conditions that will cost you lots of money to cure. At its simplest level, fitness means being able to move your body freely without pain and restriction. However, fitness also involves the development of certain habits such as maintaining good posture, keeping the body flexible, avoiding injuries, and building up the immune system.
Exercise, in the broadest sense, is defined as the action of causing motion to create some alteration in an object or in space. The most common types of exercise are running, cycling, swimming, and walking. These exercises are all designed to increase the body's strength, speed, flexibility and endurance and to make it more efficient in carrying out daily tasks. It also helps improve your cardiovascular fitness, while building up bone strength and joint flexibility.
Muscular endurance, on the other hand, is the ability of the muscles to be repeatedly exerted under sustained tension. Muscular endurance was first studied in detail by nineteenth century German gymnast Androgen Gebeler, who noticed that when he repeated a series of static stretching exercises designed to increase strength instead of strength building, he increased his muscular endurance but did not gain increased muscular power. This observation was soon replicated by American Olympic diver John dove. After a long and hard career, he too concluded that to increase strength without gaining additional muscular endurance was most likely impossible.
Thus, two areas of exercise science were launched to address the problem. One sought to develop tests of muscle and cardiovascular power. The other sought to develop tests of flexibility and strength. Researchers soon realized that both measurements could be simultaneously obtained through resistance training. Thus, with the introduction of the term 'athletic conditioning' in the late twentieth century, fitness became a two-step process involving strength and flexibility.
Cardiovascular fitness, meanwhile, was thought to improve with endurance exercises such as running or cycling. But some studies showed that, while the heart rate does increase, it doesn't improve much if at all. So does this mean that you can't improve your fitness level just by exercising? Not necessarily. Resistance training seems to be especially helpful in terms of increasing heart rate and improving stamina.
Fitness is not an end in itself. It should be used as a tool to achieve other goals - for example, to lose weight or to physically prepare for physical activities such as running or dancing. But physical exercise is also important for overall health and wellbeing. The best way to ensure that you are getting all the benefits of your regular workouts is to plan your program ahead.
Planning is the important part. As mentioned, you need to know the right amount of exercise for you. You also need to know the kinds of exercises that promote fitness and the proper fitness regime for each activity. For example, some kinds of exercises may not work as well as they should on certain parts of the body. It's important to know these things beforehand so that you won't waste your time or money on activities that won't make you healthier. And besides, there's nothing wrong with trying new fitness regimes from time to time, because this will keep your fitness levels steadily improving over time.
Finally, if you are already at a good fitness level but still have health problems, it's always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting any exercise program. While your doctor can give you accurate information about how to maintain a healthy fitness level, he or she can also provide practical advice on what kinds of exercises and physical work will be most beneficial for you. Your doctor can even design a personalized fitness program just for you based on your specific needs. This is why regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.