The importance of exercise for our bodies
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We are all aware of the importance of exercise but how many of us actually follow the guidelines for the amount and type of exercise that we should get each day. The guidelines may be difficult to follow if you are an individual with mobility or other health issues, such as those who need support from a Live in Care Gloucester company to go about their daily routine, but they can be adapted to ensure that even these individuals can enjoy the benefits of exercise.
There are essentially four types of exercise that we all should try to include in our week:
- Strength
- Endurance
- Balance
- Flexibility
Strength exercises are those that help to make the muscles in your body stronger and this is particularly important as we age as our muscles can become weaker. The types of exercises include weight lifting, resistance work and any exercise that involves your body-weight such as the plank and sit ups and push ups.
Endurance exercises are those that increase our heart and breathing rate to improve the overall function and health of the heart, lungs and the circulatory system in our bodies. This includes swimming, running, walking, dancing, cycling and team sports.
Balance exercises help to prevent falls and can improve our core strength. This is particularly important in older age as slips and trips can be harder to recover from as we age. The types of exercise that can be found in this section include tai chi and yoga.
Flexibility exercises help to stretch the muscles and keep them limber and supple so that we can move more easily. You will find exercises such as yoga, dancing and general stretching in this category.
It is important to ensure that you have around 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week. This could be a half an hour walk each day that has you slightly out of breath. You should also add in around 1 hour of strength training each week to help keep your muscles nice and strong. There are many ways that you can incorporate this exercise into your daily life and adaptations can be made for those with limited mobility. You could use a foot cycle machine to keep your legs active whilst you are sitting, or perhaps take time for some sitting yoga. Whatever type of exercise you decide to take up you should always make sure that you warm up and cool down before and after each exercise session.
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