Basic Principles of Healthy Physical Exercise

As the years pass there is a rapidly increasing accumulation of evidence for the health benefits of regular physical exercise. At universities and research institutions around the word, studies have time and again shown that engaging in consistent and regular patterns of active physical exercise results in prevention of illness, greater fitness, and better health. The sheer quantity of research evidence in favor of the health and wellbeing benefits of exercise is so great as to have resulted in an almost universal acceptance of these benefits.

Safety first

Before exploring the many benefits of physical exercise, it is appropriate to emphasize the importance of safety in relation to that exercise. It is important to acknowledge that there are risks involved in any exercise, and caution should be taken to minimize those risks. It would be a losing proposition to engage in an activity for the prevention of illness and maximization of health only to thereby incur an injury or trigger off a medical problem.

Before embarking on any program of exercise it is crucial to consider your current level of fitness and strength. In the case of the individual who has not exercised in a long time, a certain degree of deconditioning will have taken place. The initial level of exercise intensity chosen should be well within that individual’s capacity. Given that this level of capacity is difficult to assess in the abstract, it would be wise to err on the side of caution, starting at a very light level and then very gradually taking things to a higher level with subsequent sessions of exercise. Care should always be taken to observe how your body is handling it, and to ease off if there is any indication of strain.

Many gyms will require individuals over a particular age to visit their family physician prior to joining the gym, and to undergo a medical assessment and obtain a medical certificate stating their fitness to engage in the proposed physical exercise. While the motivation behind such rules may be the avoidance of litigation, it does in fact serve to protect individuals whose medical status makes them unsuitable for high-intensity exercise. Such medical assessments prior to embarking on an exercise program would be equally suitable for these individuals in scenarios that do not involve a gym, such as home-based or outdoor exercise programs.

Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular fitness

The term “aerobic exercise” refers to types of exercise during which the heart rate and breathing rate are significantly elevated for sustained periods. These forms of exercise, if engaged in on a regular basis over an extended period of time, result in increased cardiovascular fitness. Examples of aerobic exercise would include running, jogging, cycling, whether outdoors or on indoor machines, swimming, and many team or individual sports that involve significant periods of active movement. As a general rule, if it results in a quickening of the pulse rate and a raised breathing rate, it’s engaging your cardiovascular system. Regular sessions of aerobic exercise lead to increasing levels of fitness, one of the indicators of which is that the same degree of exercise starts to feel easier and to require less effort. Other indications are a slower resting heart rate and a faster return to resting heart rate after exercise is completed.

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