You must sweat before exercise can improve your health

 

Sensible exercise taken everyday will help to use up those extra calories. Walking has also been described as the best form of exercise. But latest research by scientists reveals that for exercise to have meaningful effect on our health, it must be vigorous, probably accompanied by sweating.

WE all need to be involved in physical activities, especially exercise, in order to be healthy. Jogging is one form of physical exercise that many people don’t like. But scientists, in their latest study said jogging, though counts as a vigorous activity, is actually beneficial.

According to experts at the American College of Sports Medicine, jogging improves health and you really need to break into a sweat when you exercise. The experts said the general recommendation of 30 minutes of gentle exercise each day is being misconstrued. Some may even take this to include a mere stroll to the car. People should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like jogging, three days a week, experts at the college further stated.

There are people who have not accepted and others who have misinterpreted the original recommendation. There is also confusion about what is the ideal amount and intensity of exercise to improve health. But all the experts that have spoken about physical exercise agreed that regular exercises no doubt is essential in order to stay healthy. The World Health Organization (WHO), has said that thirty minutes of gentle exercise each day could be enough to sustain a minimum level of fitness.

Recently, researchers at the Queen's University, Belfast, found that walking for half an hour on just three days a week gave similar fitness and blood pressure benefits to walking for 30 minutes five times a week. However, sports scientists are saying that this advice is misleading and could encourage people to do too little exercise. "There are people who have not accepted and others who have misinterpreted the original recommendation.

"Some people continue to believe that only vigorous intensity activity will improve health, while others believe that the light activities of their daily lives are sufficient to promote health," the sports scientists stated. The authors include several experts who are on a high-level committee in the US which next year will announce America's new physical activity guidelines.

Their original recommendations in 1995 were quickly adopted by the World Health Organisation and by the United Kingdom government in 1996. They now stress that adults need to top up their routine activities, such as casual walking and housework, with structured exercise. The new advice for adults, aged between 18 and 65 years is 30 minutes of moderate exercise on five days of the week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on three days of the week or a combination of the moderate and vigorous exercise goals plus two weekly sessions of activity (weight training) to maintain muscle strength.

This should include vigorous jogging and moderate aerobic exercise, that is, a brisk walk as well as twice-weekly activities such as weight training, which maintains or increases muscular strength and endurance. People can do short bouts of exercise to count towards their weekly goals, but these must last for at least 10 minutes. The experts at the American College of Sports Medicine stated, that even more exercise than this may have further benefits. However, research has also shown that too much exercise can be damaging to the body.

Indeed, the sports scientists say that some people - including pregnant women and those aged 65 or older, might be advised to do slightly less exercise and modify the type of activities they do. But Paul Gately, a professor of exercise and obesity at Leeds Metropolitan University, stated that it was difficult to give "one-size-fits-all" advice. He said: "People who are very overweight or obese would have to do an hour of exercise a day just to maintain their weight if they aren't going to change their diets."

But Dr. David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum, questioned whether it was realistic to expect people to do two weight training sessions each week. "I'd rather see healthy habits built into daily life - gymnastics aren't a sustainable habit for all," he said. Moreover, spokesman for the Department of Health, said it was watching the developments, but added that there were no plans to change current advice.

Courtesy: Health News