Fountain of Health Secrets-Part 2

Exercise – our body is a case of use it or lose it

Our village now has a rough road linking it to the rest of the world and electric power
(the only developments since  my childhood days in the 50s)

“I was reading a physical fitness book when my 13-year old daughter suggested that I too must change my profile photo in Facebook with a cartoon character depicting my childhood.  Relating to her some of my childhood memories inspired me to complete this blog.  I grew up in a remote small village in the mountains of the Cordillera.  Life was so simple then.  People are like one family, where everybody knows and cares for each other. There was no electricity and no roads for vehicular traffic.  People walk mostly on barefoot to go places, to their daily chores in their rice fields, kaingins ( gardens in the mountain planted with corn, lentils, fruits and vegetables) and animal pastures that are usually farther from the village. Almost everything was done manually except from the help of Carabaos in plowing the fields.  The harvests were carried manually too and transported by foot up and down the hills across rivers and streams.  In my high school days, we have to walk 6 to 8 hours to town where the nearest High School was located heavy loaded with our 1-week food provisions. There was not a single hospital in the whole town and yet there were many Septagorians or more who were still fit to tend their fields.” 

Physical activity is a natural part of human life, like sleeping or eating.  Children do them naturally by rushing around but as adults, our capacity for exercise is gradually diminished by our deskbound jobs, transportation methods and the availability of home-based leisure activities such as watching TV or Computer and other modern technology activities.    As a result, it becomes necessary for us to take planned exercises such as going to the Gym, Aerobic classes and other sports. Whether we exercise naturally or planned, we must do them regularly to keep fit. Physical fitness enhances the  ability of our bodies to deal with our varied day to day tasks.  If we are physically fit, we can perform our tasks without ending exhausted. 

Good health and life itself requires activity, otherwise our body deteriorates.  We often hear that exercise is good for our health but do we really understand why and how?  Physical fitness makes our lungs, heart, blood and muscles work more efficiently.  Getting fit relieves tension and stress which boosts our mental and physical abilities.  All human activity depends on moving muscles. Strengthening the muscles improves the oxygen exchange in the lungs and more efficient expulsion of carbon dioxide.  The muscles also extract oxygen more efficiently from the blood. A fit muscle is capable to work for longer and produce more energy.  Our heart is of course a major muscle.  The effect of exercise is to train the heart muscle to be more elastic and more efficient to pump blood.  A heart rate that develops increased elasticity in the heart and greater oxygen uptake in the muscles is the basis of all exercises.

Recently the value of walking has been discovered.  Many doctors recommend patients to walk more instead of going by car. Walking also avoids many of the problems posed by more energetic exercise. However it does not do much for the flexibility of the joints and muscles so it should be combined with other exercises such as various stretching.

Exercise programs try to make the body work to its maximum rate of absorbing oxygen.  The exercise that uses large muscles groups such as arms and legs, running, cycling, rowing are those that give a training effect and so increase fitness. Running and jogging are undoubtedly the most popular forms of exercises and can be done anywhere and does not need much equipment other than  a well-cushioned shoes.. Aerobics- consist of movement to music and can be done alone or in groups.

Wellness Pyramid

Benefits of regular Exercise  that are performed for various reasons:

       Strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system

       Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent the diseases such as  heart disease,  cardiovascular disease,  Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

       Weight loss or maintenance and for enjoyment

       Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help decrease the effects of childhood obesity in developed countries

       Honing athletic skills

       It also improves mental health, helps prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain positive self-esteem

       Augment an individual's sex appeal or body image, which again is also linked with higher levels of self-esteem

If you are too busy to do some physical exercises, here is a funny way which you can do as often as you can do in your sedentary state:  “ If you laugh 100 times a day, it’s about the same as spending 10 minutes on a rowing machine.” – Dr. William Fry, Stanford University.

Sources: 

Health & Home magazine

The Reader’s Digest Family Guide to Alternative Medicine (1992). 1^st ed. Australia,Pty limited.