Rosemary's Blog - 3rd July 2017
For maximum benefit to our health and wellbeing we need a combination of different types of exercise - stamina, strength and suppleness.
I’ve just come back from our annual Activity Holiday in Austria feeling refreshed having feasted my eyes on the beautiful mountains of the Arlberg region, and filled my lungs with the purest air.
We had 19 lovely guests as part of our group and with each having varying degrees of fitness and ability, we plan our activities accordingly so there’s something for everyone.
From catching our own lunch at the trout farm, to sipping champagne in a cable car, this holiday is certainly varied. Talks on healthy eating and fitness, classes of aerobics, Pilates, toning and stretching are all included and, of course, walking. Lots of walking. My friend and colleague Mary Morris and I thoroughly enjoy encouraging everyone to participate as much as possible. We asked our group to consider what were their goals and ambitions in respect of their health and fitness.
We asked them for one word or phrase to describe their motivation for becoming fitter. These are some of the responses:
Improve mobility social interaction increase fitness to keep in shape to stay healthy to have more energy for heart health to try to prevent hereditary health issues to increase confidence to burn extra calories to increase strength in older age to try to stay youngThe age range of our group was 30 – 83 which was really interesting. When our guests arrived at the airport some were sporting a small walking stick because of past surgery. Initially they took things carefully to ‘find their feet’ but when, four days later, one of them walked 10 miles through the mountains, there was no stick in sight. The other guest with a stick, aged 83, was very tentative initially, even though she has been with us on many of these holidays before. But by the end of the week, she was right up at the front on the walks – not only inspiring the younger members of our group but also other non-connected walkers who commented on how remarkable she was!
Whilst it can take a quite a white to see the results of following a weight-reducing diet, fitness can be improved very rapidly. I first witnessed this with my own husband when we went on holiday. We would set out on a standard route in the resort. On the first day Mike would get a little out of breath and we didn’t go too fast. By day 2, he was breathing more easily and going faster. After a week he was positively striding forward and had no problem breathing at all! I’m delighted to say he now goes to a gym and his fitness level is unrecognisable. Plus he looks years younger, brighter, fitter, and feels happier.
One of our holiday group is a young man who carries a few extra stone than he would like. On the first walk he struggled and his body was complaining but when he did the same walk the next day, he coped with it perfectly! The consequence of this almost instant progress was a massive boost to his confidence and desire to do more walking when he returns home.
In clinical fitness trials it has been proven that, no matter what our age, we can enjoy enormous and rapid benefits from regular exercise. Psychiatrists now often recommend exercise in place of medication for depression because of the enormous benefits to our mental health. Regular exercise can also help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease which surely should provide enough motivation to inspire all of us into action!
For maximum benefit to our health and wellbeing we need a combination of different types of exercise. These fall into three main categories - stamina, strength, and suppleness.
Stamina is any exercise that helps us to breathe more deeply, become slightly out of breath, and burns lots of calories. This type of aerobic activity, very importantly, boosts our heart health. Aerobics, dancing, cycling, swimming, walking, running, cross-training and so on all build our stamina.
Try to do 20-30 minutes 5 – 7 times a weekStrength exercise works our muscles. It is vitally important that we keep all our muscles strong throughout our life. As we get older, our muscles naturally reduce and we need to make a conscious effort to keep them strong. It will help us keep our posture and our figure and is vital to maintain good health. Using a toning band, hand weights, resistance training, Pilates or strength equipment in a gym all work our muscles and keep them strong.
Try to do 10-15 minutes 2 – 3 times a weekSuppleness is all about flexibility. Keeping our joints flexible enables to move around easily in our everyday lives. Putting on a seat belt, reaching into a high cupboard, zipping up a dress, crouching down to pick something up are all everyday tasks that we need to be able to do. At an aerobics class you will always be told to do a selection of stretches. This not only keeps you supple but it also allows the blood to flow through your muscles and help disperse any lactic acid that might have built up which might cause you to ache later.
Aim to stretch all the muscles you have used in aerobic and strength work after any formal activity such as a class or session or after a run or long walk.Always find a form of fitness you enjoy and try to do it regularly. If you want to try new activities have a look at the hundreds of different fitness videos at
Rosemary Online. You can see a sample on our Public Library page at
www.rosemaryconley.com or have access to our whole library of workouts by becoming a member of Rosemary Online. They are all taught by qualified fitness instructors and you will find examples of workouts that will increase your
stamina, strength and suppleness.
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