Chapter Nine : Exercise and Lifelong Fitness

Cross-training

To prevent boredom and overuse injuries, you should practice cross-training by participating in a wide variety of activities. Cross-training also ensures that more areas of your body become fit. For example, people who primarily walk for exercise could benefit from biking, which works different muscle groups in the legs.

Safe Shoes

To protect your feet from injury, footwear must fit properly, be in good condition, and provide support and protection. Be sure to buy footwear that fits your particular needs. For example, do not buy running shoes if your main activities are walking and bicycling.

How does the body lose water during exercise?

Vigorous exercise causes the body to sweat.

Social Benefits

Whether you play on a sports team or join an aerobics class, physical activity can be a way to bond with family and friends or build new relationships.

Frequency

To become or stay physically fit, you should exercise at least 3 to 5 times a week. Spread out your exercise over the week. Being inactive during the week does not prepare your body for an intense weekend workout and can lead to injury.

What is the best way to get all the nutrients you need to be healthy and physically active?

All nutrients can be obtained from a proper diet.

What is the best course of action for dealing with an injury?

Allow the injured are to heal.

How long before exercise begins should one drink about 16 ounces of water?

1-2 Hours

Tendinitis

A painful swelling of a tendon, is an injury that can result from overuse. Overuse of a bone can lead to a stress fracture, or a small break within a bone.

Strain

A pulled muscle

Dehydration

A severe reduction in the body's water content

Define Long-term Goals

An important long-term goal of any fitness program should be lifelong fitness. Choose activities that you enjoy and can continue as you age. Vary your activities from day to day. This can lower your risk of injury, allow you to meet your schedule needs, and reduce boredom. Combine exercise with social activities whenever possible. For example, go for a hike with friends or rake leaves with your family.

Sprain

An overstretched or torn ligament

Physical Activity

Any activity or movement that requires your large muscle groups to work .Physical activity improves five components of physical fitness: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Can be classified as Aerobic or Anaerobic

Dietary Supplement

Any product that contains one or more vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other dietary substances that may be lacking in the diet. Many supplement products promise shortcuts to greater fitness, such as increased muscle strength or extra energy. Keep in mind that supplements do not undergo the same strict testing as medications do. Therefore, some harmful side effects might not be discovered until after the supplement has been widely used. Also, there is no guarantee that the supplement will provide the benefits it claims.

Dietary Supplement

Any product that contains one or more vitamins, minerals,herbs,or other dietary substances lacking in the diet.

Anabolic Steroids

Artificial forms of the hormone testosterone, a hormone that is involved in muscle development. Doctors may prescribe anabolic steroids for patients with muscular disorders. However, many athletes take steroids in the hope of improving their performance or changing their appearance.

Why should you dress so that you feel slightly cool at the beginning of your workout?

As you exercise, your heart rate increases and you'll feel warmer.

Body Composition

Body composition is the amount of fat tissue in your body compared to the amount of lean tissue, such as muscles and bones. Having too much, or too little, body fat can lead to health problems.

R.I.C.E Treatment

Rest the injured area and avoid using it. Ice the area for the first 24 hours to reduce swelling. After that, periodically apply moist heat to the area. Compress the area with an elastic wrap. Elevate the injured area to prevent or limit swelling.

Cardio-respiratory Endurance

Cardio-respiratory endurance means that your heart, blood vessels, and lungs are able to distribute nutrients and oxygen and remove wastes efficiently during prolonged exercise. As the heart muscles become stronger, more blood is pumped with each beat. The lungs become more efficient at delivering oxygen to the blood and removing carbon dioxide.

Safe Clothing

Clothing should be comfortable and allow unrestricted movement. Avoid any clothing that could cause you to trip or get caught on equipment. For example, do not wear loose-fitting pants when bicycling. Wear light-colored, reflective clothing if you must exercise at night.

Which is not a symptom of overuse?

Dehydration

Endorphins

During continuous exercise, your brain releases endorphins, chemicals that block pain messages from reaching your brain cells. Endorphins are also responsible for the feelings of satisfaction and pleasure you feel after a good workout.

Over-training

If you exercise too intensely or for too long without allowing enough time for rest, you may be overtraining. The first sign of overtraining is fatigue during exercise or a few hours after a workout. Fatigue is a signal that you are overworking your body. Other signs of overtraining include nausea or vomiting during or after a workout, loss of appetite, and irritability. If you experience any of these symptoms, reduce the intensity and length of your workout. If the symptoms do not subside, seek medical care. You can avoid over-training by sticking to a consistent exercise schedule that includes days of rest. In addition, always exercise within your comfort level. Pushing yourself to achieve fitness goals too quickly can lead to injuries.

Isokinetic Exercise

In isokinetic exercise muscles contract at a constant rate. Isokinetic exercises require fitness machines that provide resistance to muscle movement. These exercises are often used as therapy to rebuild muscle strength after an injury.

Define Short-Term Goals

In planning a fitness program, you also need to know your more immediate, or short-term goals. For example, do you want to increase your cardiorespiratory endurance? If so, your exercise program could include basketball, brisk walking, or other aerobic activities. If you want to gain more muscle mass, your program should include anaerobic exercises such as lifting weights. Or, you may have a combination of goals in mind. Your goals should be specific to help you measure your progress. For example, "I want to be able to run an eight-minute mile" is more specific than "I want to run faster." Your time frame for reaching your goals also needs to be realistic. Otherwise, you may become discouraged and give up

Weight Benefits

Regular physical activity increases your basal metabolic rate—the amount of energy your body uses when you are at rest. An active metabolism makes it easier to remain at a healthy weight. Staying at a healthy weight can reduce your risk for developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

Anaerobic Exercises

Intense physical activity that lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes is called anaerobic exercise. Because anaerobic exercise is so intense and quick, your cardiovascular system cannot supply muscles with enough oxygen to produce energy. Unlike your other body cells, muscle cells do not need oxygen to meet this rapid demand for energy. Lifting weights, doing push-ups, and sprinting are examples of anaerobic activities. Most anaerobic exercises develop muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.

Isotonic Exercise

Isotonic exercise involves contracting and relaxing your muscles through the full range of a joint's motion. Pull-ups are an example of isotonic exercise. Exercises with free weights, such as barbells, are also isotonic. Through repetition of isotonic exercises, you can develop muscular strength and endurance.

Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of your muscles to work for an extended time. How long you can hold a barbell—or how many times you can lift it—is a measure of your muscular endurance. Developing muscular endurance requires repeated actions over an extended period of time, such as raking leaves, rowing, or walking.

Aerobic Exercises

Ongoing physical activity that raises your breathing rate and heart rate is called aerobic exercise Aerobic exercises increase the amount of oxygen that your body takes in and uses. Swimming, running, brisk walking, and cross-country skiing are all forms of aerobic exercise. By performing aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes at a time on a regular basis, you can improve your cardio-respiratory endurance. Many aerobic activities also improve muscular endurance.

Balance and Coordination Benefits

Physical activity improves your balance and coordination, which may, in turn, improve your athletic ability. In addition, good balance and coordination can also reduce your risk of injury while performing chores such as climbing ladders or carrying packages down stairs.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness means that you have the energy and strength to participate in a variety of activities.

Isometric Exercise

Place your palms together and push them against each other. This is an isometric exercise, an exercise in which muscles contract but very little body movement takes place. If you do isometric exercises on a regular basis, the muscles you use will become stronger.

Proper Water and Food Intake

Proper hydration, or fluid intake, is important while exercising. You should drink about 16 ounces of water one to two hours before you exercise. Replacing the water you lose in sweat will prevent dehydration, or excessive water loss. Dehydration can lead to a dangerous rise in body temperature, muscle cramps, and unnecessary strain on your heart.

Protective Gear

Shoulder pads, helmets, mouthguards, and other protective gear are designed to prevent injuries during contact sports. Hard-shell helmets worn by football, hockey, and baseball players protect the head from a direct blow. A helmet also should be worn any time you use wheeled sports equipment such as a bicycle, a skateboard, or inline skates. Kneepads, elbow pads, and wrist guards are also important to prevent injuries while skateboarding or skating.

Risks Of Steroids

Steroids can alter appearance, damage organs, increase the risk of cancer, and cause depression. The use of unprescribed steroids is also illegal. In addition to risking their health, steroid users risk being banned from sports or other punishments.

Which is an important reason to avoid dietary supplements unless a doctor prescribes them?

Supplements do not undergo the same strict testing as medicines.

Muscular Strength

The ability of a muscle to produce force is called muscular strength. The amount of weight you can lift is one measure of your muscular strength. Developing muscular strength requires exerting your muscles for short periods of time, such as doing push-ups.

Flexibility

The ability to move a joint through its entire range of motion is called flexibility. This means that you can bend, stretch, and twist your body easily. Flexibility can vary in different joints. For example, some people can't lean over and touch their toes. But their shoulders are flexible enough to help them throw a javelin a great distance. Stretching exercises, if done correctly, can increase flexibility and may reduce the risk of injury during exercise.

Lifelong Fitness

The ability to stay healthy and fit as you age.

Time

The amount of time you spend exercising affects your level of fitness. If you are just starting an exercise program, limit your time to only about 10 or 15 minutes a day. Then increase your exercise time gradually. Once your workout program is established, you should exercise for at least 20 to 30 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week.

Intensity

The only way to improve your physical fitness is to make your body do more than it normally does. To increase cardio-respiratory endurance, for example, you must exercise within your target heart rate range.

FITT Formula

The success of your fitness plan depends on four factors: how often you exercise, how hard you exercise, how long you exercise, and the types of exercise you choose. These factors make up the FITT formula, which stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type.

Type

The types of activities you choose are also important for your success. Make sure that your exercise choices correspond to your goals and interests.

Cardiovascular benefits

Your heart and blood vessels receive the most benefits from regular physical activity. As your heart becomes stronger, it can pump more blood with less effort. The number of capillaries in your muscles increases, which may reduce blood pressure. Exercise also lowers blood cholesterol levels.

Bone Benefits

Your physical activities should include some weight-bearing exercises such as jumping rope or walking. These activities make your bones stronger and denser. Having strong, dense bones may reduce your chances of developing osteoporosis later in life.

Target Heart Rate

Your target heart rate is the rate at which your cardiovascular system receives the most benefits from exercise without working too hard.