Health, Happiness and a Beach Bod

Sure, you want to look good in that bikini on the beach.  And you want to show toned arms at a barbecue. Well, it just happens that the path to a fit outer body also leads to a fit inner body.

Physical benefits of exercising include:

• Reduction of coronary heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

• Building and maintaining strong muscles, bones and joints, which benefit older people further by giving them strength, fluidity and a lower risk of falling.

• Assisting the brain in learning and memory, new cell growth, prevention of negative effects of chronic stress and fighting infection.

• Strengthening ligaments, tendons, cartilage and bone for a lengthened life span.

Emotional benefits provided by regular exercise:

• Reduction of depression and anxiety.

• Improvement of mood by raising levels of “pleasure” chemicals such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine.

• Reduction in sleeplessness.

Aerobic exercise, as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine, is “any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously and is rhythmic in nature.”  This type of activity makes the heart and lungs work harder than they do when at rest.  Examples include walking, jogging, running, swimming, dancing, bicycling and aerobic exercise classes. 

To achieve health benefits using aerobics, do them two to seven times per week; for maintaining weight, do two to five times a week; and for weight loss, increase the exercise periods to six or seven times per week and/or increase the workout time.  Toning requires performing many repetitions with low resistance, whereas building muscle requires weight training as well.  As always, warm-up and cool-down periods must be included to prevent injury when exercising.