Exercise & Fitness

Physical fitness can strengthen bones, build muscles, trim inches from your waistline, reduce your risk of falls and injury, boost your sex life, and improve your overall physical endurance. It can even add years to your life. But physical fitness has benefits for your mental health as well. Regular exercise can help you manage stress, boost your mood, and improve the quality of your sleep at night. Research even shows that exercise can improve your cognitive abilities and reduce your risk of dementia as you age.

The five components of fitness include cardio endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Cardio endurance is your ability to perform an aerobic exercise, such as walking or running, for a certain length of time. Muscular strength measures your ability to move objects, such as dumbbells, by exerting force. Muscular endurance is how well you can sustain that movement before becoming fatigued. Flexibility refers to your ability to move your joints through a range of motion. Body composition describes the ratio of fat and muscle in your physique.

Aerobic exercise is also called cardio or cardiovascular training, and involves rhythmic movement that forces your heart to pump faster. Aerobic exercises can be either low-intensity or high-intensity. Some examples include walking, running, dancing, swimming, or cycling. The word “aerobic” means “with oxygen,” referring to how your body uses oxygen during exercise.

Core exercises are an important part of strength training that builds muscles in your pelvis, abdomen, and spine. Building a strong core helps you to maintain good posture, boosts your mobility and endurance, alleviates lower back pain, and helps you avoid falls and injury as you get older. Some examples of core exercises include reverse crunches, planks, bridges, and prone arm and leg raises. Activities such as yoga, Pilates, swimming, beach volleyball, kayaking, and surfing also provide a good core workout.

Nordic walking involves walking with two lightweight poles that resemble ski poles. As you walk, you push the poles against the ground, maintaining a relaxed grip and using the straps to press down on the back swing. The more pressure you apply, the more your upper-body muscles will be engaged. Nordic walking has several benefits. Like conventional walking, it serves as an effective form of aerobic exercise, or cardio training, while using the poles helps to build your upper-body strength. Research shows that Nordic walking can be a safe and beneficial activity for both young adults and older people.