Methods for Fat to fit: Lead a Long life with a Healthy Lifestyle

An effective fitness program includes many components of physical fitness.

All fitness component should be followed by 24 to 48 hours of rest for that area, to allow it to recover. Cardiovascular endurance refers to the ability of your heart and lungs to work together to fuel your body with oxygen. The Cooper Run is most often used to test cardiovascular endurance. Aerobic conditioning, like jogging, swimming and cycling, can help improve cardiovascular endurance.

Muscle strength refers to the amount of force a muscle can exert, in a single effort. Exercises like the bench press, leg press or bicep curl might be used to measure muscle strength. Muscle endurance refers to the ability of a muscle to perform a continuous effort without fatiguing. Cycling, step machines and sit up tests are often used to measure muscular endurance.

FLEXIBILITY “REFERS TO THE RANGE OF MOVEMENT AT THE JOINT.” Can be improved by STRETCHING the muscles and tendons and by extending the ligaments and supporting tissues BEYOND THEIR NORMAL RANGE OF MOVEMENT.

There are 3 different types of stretching

Static Stretching – EXTENDING a limb beyond its normal range. The position is held for at least 10 seconds.

Active/Dynamic Stretching – Extending a joint beyond its normal limit, and repeats this RHYTHMICALLY over a period of 20 seconds.

Passive Stretching – Joint flexibility is improved by EXTERNAL FORCE caused by partners or coaches who move the limb to its end position and keep it there for a few seconds.

A Proper aerobic Exercise can: increase the efficiency of the heart by making it able to pump more blood (increased stroke volume) with fewer beats (decreased heart rate) resulting in

• Increased oxygen availability to the heart
• Increase the ability of muscles to pick up, carry and use oxygen efficiently
• Decrease the oxygen requirements of the heart during rest and activity
• Decrease resting blood pressure such that blood pressure medications may be decreased
• Decrease the ability to exercise at higher workloads for longer periods of time, before being limited by fatigue, shortness of breath or chest pain
• Decrease triglyceride levels in the blood and increase the HDL-Cholesterol (good cholesterol) levels, thus making it harder for fats to collect inside artery walls
• Decrease blood sugar and triglyceride levels in the blood such that the types and amounts of blood sugar lowering drugs may be decreased or changed for those individuals with diabetes
• Decrease the blood’s ability to clot and stick to blood vessel walls which decreases the risk for blood clots to block small arteries
• Increase one’s ability to move, thus making it easier to perform daily activities
• Decrease body fat and increase muscle mass
• Increase metabolism
• Increase tolerance to stress by improving one’s outlook on life
• Decrease hostility
• Increase control of stress hormones
• Increase one’s self-confidence and general sense of well-being
• Decrease risk for osteoporosis