Exercise

Ron Nicholson

June 17, 2008

Eng 106

Exercise! Take Note

Early Morning jogs, gym workouts, swimming, skiing or simply walking are easy ways to stay fit for life. In addition to being fun and exciting they are everyday physical activities that can improve your fitness level and bring important health benefits as well as educational advantages, especially for those athletes on teams that involve travelling to different places for matches. The exposure to different culture is beneficial also. Moderate physical exercise is essential for better health and fitness mentally and physically; despite the widespread misperception that exercise can be strenuous and affect your health and is not recommended for the aged.

The first important point is that exercises improve your fitness. The surgeon general’s report defines fitness as “the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue and with ample energy.” Even after years of a sedentary lifestyle, people can achieve this level of fitness if they perform regular, moderate physical activity. Spending more time on less vigorous activity provides health benefits similar to shorter, more intense workouts. For example everyone can accumulate the daily equivalent of thirty minutes moderate exercise by briskly walking home from work for 15mins and riding a bike for another 15mins will do the trick. It’s true that Belizeans can optimize their fitness by taking up more vigorous sports such as swimming or jogging. But it is not necessary to disrupt your hectic daily schedule by rushing off to a gym or jogging track (Marion Jones Stadium).

The second important point is that moderate physical activity brings important health benefits. More than 65% of adults do not perform a minimum 30mins of moderate physical exercise. Worse, about 30% are completely inactive. This sedentary lifestyle increase as we grow older and is even more common among women than men....