Designing an Exercise Program
Designing an Exercise Program
How to design an exercise program
Exercise is essential to maintaining health and can also improve your overall sense of well-being. Even low-to-moderate intensity activities for as little as 30 minutes a day can be beneficial. These activities may include:
Pleasure walking
Climbing stairs
Gardening
Yard work
Moderate-to-heavy housework
Dancing
Home exercise
However, more vigorous aerobic activities, done three or four times a week for 30 to 60 minutes, are best for improving the fitness of the heart and lungs. Regular, aerobic physical activity increases a person's capacity for exercise and plays a role in prevention of cardiovascular diseases and even certain cancers. Aerobic exercise may also help to lower blood pressure.
These activities may include:
Brisk walking
Running
Swimming
Cycling
Roller skating
Jumping rope
Benefits from regular exercise or physical activity
According to the American Heart Association, the following are key benefits of physical activity:
Improves blood circulation throughout the body
Keeps weight under control
Improves blood cholesterol levels
Prevents and manages high blood pressure
Prevents bone loss
Boosts energy level
Releases tension
Improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well
Improves self-image
Helps manage stress
Counters anxiety and depression
Increases enthusiasm and optimism
Increases muscle strength
A daily exercise program can provide a way to share an activity with family and friends, while helping establish good heart-healthy habits. For children, daily exercise deters conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, and poor lifestyle habits that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life. For older people, daily physical activity helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging, and maintains quality of life and independence longer.
