Monday, July 30, 2012

The Benefits of Getting Fit

We can grow old graciously fighting the aging process and winning. Exercise and good nutrition are critical to our well being, today and in our later years. Let's find out...
Muscle Endurance & Strength Training Many physiologists and researchers consider muscle conditioning to be the true fountain of youth, the "magic pill" to reverse or prevent a significant portion of the aging process. A good number of the changes people experience as they age are due to a loss of muscle mass. If we can maintain a significant amount of muscle tissue, we can expect to age much more slowly. Research indicates that general strength training can achieve the following results.
How Can It Improved Your Fitness With a well-planned fitness program and a good diet with good nutrition supplements can increased our strength by up to 226.7 per cent. This is a huge boost for you.
When you have done eight weeks of physical and strength training, your lean tissue would increased by 1.3 kilograms (about 3 pounds). It's estimated that each half kilo of muscle that you have on your body will burn an additional 30 to 40 calories every day. This will definitely raises your metabolic rate, in fact, by seven per cent. If you gain 1.5 to two kilos of muscle, you will be burning 90 to 160 extra calories every day just by having more muscle on your body. This makes it so much easier for you to maintain your body weight and keep your body fat levels at a minimum.
After three months of strength exercise, you could lose about two and half kilos of fat in weight while eating 15 per cent more calories.
After four months of strength exercise you could increased your bone mineral density. The result of a good health and fitness program could result in you reducing the risk of osteoporosis. This is good news for women who over the age of 40. Those who engage in strength training not only do not lose bone mass but actually experience a one per cent gain in bone mass.
What Could Regular Strength Training Do For You?
  • Help to increase your walking speed and climbing power.
  • Help you to have a good body balance and result in you decreasing the risk of falling. A study of women over the age of 40 found that the sedentary subjects experienced an eight per cent decline in balance, while those who practiced strength training demonstrated good improvement.
  • Could help to reduce your blood pressure after 2 months
  • Improved your blood lipid levels, especially for those who have high cholesterol in their blood.
  • Reduced arthritic pain
  • Reduced low-back pain after 10 weeks of specific strength exercise.
  • Those who have postural problems could be treated by following a structured muscle conditioning program. This will result in improving your posture.
On top of all these benefits, muscle looks good, and it improves our posture so that we carry ourselves better and with more confidence. We move differently, with greater coordination and agility, and our performance in recreational pursuits is enhanced significantly."Knowing is not enough: we must apply! Waiting is not enough; we must do." Johann W. Goethe
Kylie Hong is an fitness enthusiast.