There is now growing awareness that physical fitness and exercise plays vital role for the attainment and maintenance of good health, good looks and youthfulness. It also a wonderful way to have a good figure. This is based on the realization that negative influences adversely affect the health and beauty of a person lid lead to degeneration of the human body. Factors like environmental pollution. exposure to chemicals and drugs, synthetic foods, sedentary lifestyle and mental stress undermine health and good foods and increase the incidence of degenerative diseases. thereby hastening the ageing process. Exercise is a key factor in the search for a youthful appearance It relieves tension. anxiety and stress which greatly contribute to premature wrinkling. There is a close relationship between exercise and healthy skin. Exercise enables a person to attain a state of wellbeing which protects the body from degeneration. It is a level of good health that helps to counteract the ageing changes in the body and also a both body and mind to function efficiently.
Benefits: The body benefits from exercise in various ways. The different systems of the body get a boost and this results in their better functioning, increased strength, stamina and energy. It improves circulation of the blood, facilitates better transportation of oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body, right up to the skin. This enables the skin to eliminate the waste in a more efficient way, thereby preserving it from ageing changes. The improved circulation and optimum oxygenation helps to counteract may circulatory problems associated with age. Exercise improves the tone and elasticity of muscles and joints. This enables the body to look and feel young and gives the figure good proportions. Regular exercise also enables the body to achieve poise, grace and a good posture which are essential factors for good looks and youthful appearance. It thus helps to delay ageing. Regular exercise programmes have shown remarkable improvement in health and appearance.
Methods Of Exercise: Several systems of exercise have been developed over the years, the most popular among them being the Swedish system and yogaasanas, the latter having been practiced from ancient times. Whichever system one chooses to adopt, the exercises should be performed systematically, regularly and under proper guidance. Walking is one such exercise. It is the most efficient exercise for improving overall fitness. It uses more muscles in a continuous, uniform action than most other forms of exercise and it remains accessible to everyone throughout life. A regular walking programme can help one lose weight, give more energy and tone flabby muscles. It can help prevent heart disease, alleviate mental depression and ease some of the pain of arthritis as well as reverse some of the physical aspects of ageing. This form of exercise is, however, so gentle in character that one must walk several kilometres in a brisk manner to constitute a fair amount of exercise. Tennis, etc.
Precautions: The most important rule of the fitness plan is to start with very light exercise and to increase the effort in gradual and easy stages. It is valuable and possibly harmful to become exhausted or seriously short of breath. Perhaps, one should aim at activities which need about two-third of one’s maximum ability. Counting the pulse rate is quite easy. Press just firmly enough to feel the beat easily. Now count the number of beats in 15 seconds, with the help of a watch with a second hand, and calculate your rate by multiplying by four. At rest your heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute. This rate increases during exercise. Really vigorous exercise can produce rates as high as 200 beats or more per minute. A reasonable aim is to exercise at about two-thirds of your maximum capacity. It follows that the heart rate should be about 130 per minute during and just after exercise. Always avoid over-exertion and never allow your pulse to go above 190 minus your age per minute.
