LESSON 13
PHYSICAL TRAINING IN UPBRINGING
Theme: Physical Training in Upbringing.
v Physical Training in Upbringing.
v Health Effects
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances
or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for
various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the
purpose of enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity It also improves mental health, helps
prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain
positive self-esteem, and can even augment an individual's sex appeal or body
image, which is also found to be linked with higher levels of self-esteem.
Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help
decrease some of the effects of childhood and adult obesity. Health care
providers often call exercise the "miracle" or "wonder"
drug—alluding to the wide variety of proven benefits that it provides
Initial level of
knowledge:
v basic terms and
categories;
v historical foundations,
major contributors and current issues
related to knowledge and practice;
v models, theories,
philosophies, and research methods that form the
basis for special education practice;
Initial level of knowledge and skills are checked by solving situational tasks for each topic, answers in
test evaluations and constructive questions (the instructor has tests &
situational tasks)
Short
Account of the Topic:
A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY. "A sound mind in a sound body, this,"
says Locke, "is the short but complete definition of happiness in this
world." Such, therefore, ought to be the double purpose of education.
Physical education should not be separated from intellectual and moral
education. And this for two reasons : first, because
bodily health and strength are desirable and good in themselves, because they
make a part of that complete and perfect life which is the will of nature and
the dream of education; and then
because the development of the body is one of the conditions, one of the means,
of the development of the soul, because the higher life of the spirit is not
possible, except it have for a support a robust and healthy physical life.
Physical education (often abbreviated Phys. Ed. or P.E.)
or gymnastics (gym or gym
class) is a course taken during primary and secondary education that
encourages psychomotor
learning in a play or movement exploration setting. The term physical education
is most commonly used to denote they haveparticipated in the subject area rather than studied it."[1]
The primary aims of physical education have
varied, based on the needs of the time and place. Most modern schools' goal is
to provide students with knowledge, skills, capacities, values, and the
enthusiasm to maintain a healthy lifestyle into adulthood. Activities included
in the program are designed to promote physical fitness, to develop motor
skills, to instill knowledge and understanding of
rules, concepts, and strategies. Students learn to either work as part of a
team, or as individuals, in a wide variety of competitive activities. In all
states in the United States,
physical education is offered to students from grades K through 12. Most states
do require physical education from 6th through 9th grades and offer
"elective" physical education classes from 10th through 12th grades.
THE AIM OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- Provide appropriate
opportunities and experiences for individuals to achieve
their optimum potential.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of acquisition of skills and the value
of exercise.
- Acquire and develop techniques
and skills in a broad range of activity areas.
- Encourage and developing awareness through body awareness.
- Using sport to enhance and develop social awareness.
- To encompass enjoyment and satisfaction and thereby encourage a lifelong
commitment to an active and healthy lifestyle.
Physical Education trends have developed
recently to incorporate more activities into P.E. Introducing students to
lifetime activities like bowling, walking/hiking, or frisbee
at an early age can help students develop good activity habits that will carry
over into adulthood. Some teachers have even begun to incorporate
stress-reduction techniques such as yoga and deep-breathing. Teaching
non-traditional sports to students may also provide the necessary motivation
for students to increase their activity, and can help students learn about
different cultures. For example, while teaching a unit about
Lacrosse (in say Arizona),
students can also learn a little bit about the Native American cultures of the
Northeast and Eastern Canada,
where Lacrosse originated. Teaching non-traditional (or non-native)
sports provides a great opportunity to integrate academic concepts from other
subjects as well (social studies from the example above), which is required of
every P.E. teacher these days.
There are also many different models that have
been created as of late that change the face of P.E.
One example of this is the Health Club Model. Teaching with this model is very
different from the "Organized Recess" of 20 or 30 years ago. Spun off
the boom in the health club industry, a P.E. class provides many of the same
"classes" that are found at a health club. Monday a student could be
doing kickboxing, the next day is yoga, Wednesday the
student is doing Spinning. This type of program provides a great variety of
activity for students, a lot a high intensity exercise, and helps introduce
these activities for use later in life. The Sports Education model is another
example of a new model were the class is run like a sports league, with
students taking the role of coaches, scorers, referees, and reporters as well
as players. Using this model, students practice management skills, mathematic
skills, and writing skill all while learning sports skills and being active.
Another trend is the incorporation of Health and
Nutrition to the physical education curriculum. The Child Nutrition and WIC
Reauthorization Act of 2004 required that all school districts with a federally
funded school meal program develop wellness policies that address nutrition and
physical activity. [2] While teaching students sports and movement skills,
P.E. teachers are now incorporating short health and nutrition lessons into the
curriculum. This is more prevalent at the elementary school level, where
students do not have a specific Health class.
International P.E.
In the United States, the physical education curriculum is designed
to allow school pupils a full range of modern opportunities, dozens of sports
and hundreds of carefully reviewed drills and exercises, including exposure to
the education with the use of pedometer, GPS, and heart rate monitors, as well as
state-of-the-art exercise machines in the upper grades. Some martial arts classes, like wrestling in the United States, and Pencak Silat in France, Indonesia andMalaysia
, are taught to teach children self-defense and to feel good about themselves. The physical
education curriculum is designed to allow students to experience at least a
minimum exposure to the following categories of activities: aquatics, conditioning
activities, gymnastics, individual/dual sports, team sports, rhythms, and
dance. Students are encouraged to continue to explore those
activities in which they have a primary interest by effectively managing their
community resources.
In these areas, a planned sequence of learning experiences is designed to
support a progression of student development. This allows kids through 6th grade
to be introduced to sports, fitness, and teamwork in order to be better
prepared for the middle and high school age. In 1975, the United States House of
Representatives voted to require
school physical education classes include both genders.[3] Some high school and some middle school PE classes
are single-sex. Requiring individuals to participate in
physical education activities, such as dodgeball, flag football,
and other competitive sports. This remains a controversial subject because of the
social impact these games have on young children. It is, however, important to
note that many school budgets have seen cutbacks and in some cases physical
education programs have been cut - leaving educators and students to address
these needs in other ways.
In Singapore, pupils from
primary school through junior colleges are required to have 2 hours of PE every
school week, except during examination seasons. Pupils are able to play games like
football, badminton, 'captain's ball' and basketball during most sessions.
Unorthodox sports such as tchoukball, fencing and
skateboarding are occasionally played. In more prestigious secondary schools
and in junior colleges, sports such as golf, tennis, shooting, squash are played. A compulsory fitness exam, NAPFA, is
conducted in every school once every year to assess the physical fitness of the
pupils. Pupils are given a series of fitness tests (Pull-ups/ Inclined pull-ups
for girls, standing broad jump, sit-ups, sit-and-reach and 1.2 km for
secondary/2.4 km for junior colleges run). Students are graded by gold,
silver, bronze and fail. NAPFA for Year 2 males in junior colleges serves as an
indicator for an additional 2 months in the country's compulsory national
service if they attain bronze or fail.
In Scotland, pupils are
expected to do two periods of PE in first year, one in second year and two in
third and fourth year. In fifth
and sixth year, PE is voluntary.
Some countries include Martial Arts training in school as part of
Physical Education class. Here, these children are doing karate.
In
the Philippines, some schools
have integrated martial arts training into their Physical Education cirriculum.[4][5][6][7][8]
In England, pupils are
expected to do two hours of PE a week in Year 7, 8 and 9 and at least 1
in year 10 and 11.
In Wales, pupils are
expected to do only one hour of PE per fortnight.
In Nepal, physical
education is poor and poorly organized because the educational system has only
been recently established and is still adjusting to recent changes and updates.
Nepal has not gone very far
in the sector of education because the educational history of Nepal
is very short. Before 1951, Nepal
was under a monarchy. The monarchy did not wish to provide education to the
citizens as it did not want them to be educated and therefore politically
aware. Institution of democracy did not result in a modern educational system;
what education there was little better. After 10 years of democracy the country
again plunged into an autocratic monarchy. In 1990 democracy was restored and
the education sector started to flourish. Since then, Physical Education became
part of the school curriculum. At the primary level (1-5), some minor and local
games are now taught, like hide and seek and some athletic based local events.
In lower secondary level (6-8), the students are taught general concepts on
major games like football, volleyball, basket ball, Kho-Kho
and Kabaddi. They also learn some athletics like 100m
race 100*4m relay race and some other minor and lead up games. In class Nine
and ten it is an optional subject where they specialize in some games like
volleyball, basketball, handball, cricket, Kho Kho Kabaddi, Badminton, table
tennis and some athletics are also taught. In college it is taught in the
education stream. Even though it is included in school curriculum, Nepal
is not able to produce any worthwhile products of games and sports for reasons
ranging from poverty to decentralized government.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR THE GOOD OF THE BODY.
There
have been times when men could believe that the ideal was to despise the body,
and even to humiliate it and mortify it, that this lower element of our being
was entitled to no respect, to no care, and that human perfection was in
proportion to the diminution and the decay of the material forces. Mysticism
proposed, as the unique purpose of life, spiritual perfection
; and asceticism, the practical application of the principles of
mysticism, took up arms against the body, to reduce it to terms by fasting, by
tortures, by privations of every description, if possible, to annihilate it, as
the source of all sin and of all evil.
We
of to-day have recovered from these chimeras. We regard man as a whole which is
not to be mutilated in any of its parts. Simply because they are inferior in
dignity to the spiritual forces, the energies of the physical organism none the
less deserve to be respected and developed.
"As
remarks a suggestive writer," says Herbert Spencer,
" the first requisite to success in life is 'to be a good animal '
; and to be a nation of good animals is the first condition of national
prosperity. Not only is it that the event of a war often turns on the strength
and hardiness of soldiers ; but it is that the contests of commerce are in part
determined by the bodily endurance of producers." l
Moreover,
it is not simply a question of positive and practical interest
; the preservation of health is one of our duties. Every conscious
infraction of the laws of hygiene is a culpable act, and, as Herbert Spencer
has justly observed, every prejudice voluntarily done to health is a physical
sin.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR THE SAKE OF THE MIND.
A
thing not less positive is that there is a solidarity of interest
between mind and body. As the physical and the moral are, so to speak, the
under and the upper textures of the same fabric, it would be folly to suppose
that we could with impunity derange the under without by the same act
compromising the upper.
The
Greeks understood this, and they associated the body and the mind in one
harmonious education, in order to make man at once "
beautiful and good." It was by them that Montaigne
was inspired when he wrote his admirable chapter on the "Training of
Children."
"It
is not enough to toughen the mind of the child ; his
muscles must be toughened also. The mind is too hard driven if it is not assisted ; it has too much to do to fill two offices alone.
I know how much mine, so prone to be preoccupied with itself, suffers from
being tied to a body so delicate and sensitive ; and in my reading I often
notice that in their accounts my authors adduce as examples of magnanimity and
courage, what ought the rather to be attributed to thickness of skin and ardness of bone."
And
further on :
"It
is not a soul, nor yet a body, which we are educating, but a
man, and we must not divide him. And, as Plato says, we must not train
one of them without the other, but we must drive them abreast like a span of
horses harnessed to the same shaft."
The
moral faculties do not freely expand, except when the body is in full health ; and besides, when they have once been developed,
they do not come into free exercise unless they can avail themselves of firm
and agile members.
A
good bodily constitution ' ' renders the operations
of the mind easy and sure; "and at the same time that it contributes
towards forming the mind, it is a necessary condition for the outward
manifestation of spirit, and prevents the mind from falling back upon itself,
lost in futile contemplations.
I
well know that we sometimes meet with intelligences of the first order, and
with strong and courageous wills, united to weak and sickly bodies. A man whose
physical life is but a perpetual discomfort may be distinguished from all
others by the energy of his mind and the elevation of his heart. The example of
Pascal, the invalid and the man of genius, occurs to the mind of every one. It
may really happen in certain cases, by a mysterious reaction, that bodily
sufferings may refine and stimulate the moral faculties. In such cases, pain is
the principal agent in this unusual progress of the intelligence. But these
exceptions prove nothing as against the general law. With good health, Pascal
might have lived longer, and probably would have lost nothing of his genius.
According to the expression which he himself used, it will not do to despise
the bete, for sooner or later it will have its
revenge. It had its vengeance on Pascal by killing him.
"Physical
perfection serves to assure moral perfection. There is nothing more tyrannical
than an enfeebled organism. Nothing sooner paralyzes the free activity of the
reason, the flight of the imagination, and the exercise of reflection; nothing
sooner dries up all the sources of thought than a sickly body whose functions
languish, and for which every effort is a cause of suffering. Then have no
scruples; and if you would form a soul which is to have ample development, a
man of generous and intrepid will, a work-man capable of great undertakings and
arduous labors, first, and above all, secure a
vigorous organism, of powerful resistance and muscles of steel."
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AS A PREPARATION FOR PROFESSIONAL
EDUCATION. Physical education like intellectual and moral education,
does not consist merely in a disinterested culture of natural powers, but tends
towards a practical end ; it ought to be a preparation
for life, and, by reason of its very nature, a preparation for professional education,
or at least for bodily skill.
It
is hardly possible to introduce into the education of all men
what Locke and Rousseau desired, the apprenticeship to a trade ; but,
nevertheless, under all circumstances it is well to know how to use
one's hands and one's limbs.
"One
of the highest compliments we can pay a man," says Saint-Marc Girardin, "is to say that he knows how to surmount difficulties, not through
artful discourse or through ingenious conversation, but, if necessary, through
manual dexterity also; to come off conqueror, not merely in great things, but
in small ; not to be continually in need of using the arms of others in order
to lengthen his own, and to
be embarrassed neither by his own body nor by what it has to carry ; but that
he is versatile and active, that he is neither awkward nor effeminate, in a
word, that he can live without having a bell within reach, and a servant
within sound of the bell."
It
is especially in the common school, by reason of the special destination of
those who attend it, that physical education ought to take a practical direction,
and thus prepare boys for the future occupations of the laborer
and the soldier, and girls for the duties of the household and for the
occupations peculiar to women.
On
this point, the official programme of French instruction expresses itself as follows :
"The
purpose of physical education is not merely to fortify the body and strengthen
the constitution of the child, by placing him in the most favorable
hygienic conditions ; but it should also give him, at
an early hour, qualities of deftness and agility, that manual dexterity and th#t promptness and certainty of movement which, valuable
for every one, are more particularly necessary for pupils in the common school,
the most of whom are destined for manual occupations."
PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. It is in the education
of the body that the greatest credit seems to have been given the notion that
nature should have her own way, that she should be intrusted exclusively with the care of developing the
organs and regulating their functions. It were a grave error thus to hand over
the health and life of the child to accidents and hazards of every species.
Here, as everywhere, we must aid nature, and to aid her we must know her.
To
be wholly rational, physical education should be based on a profound knowledge
of the different sciences which treat of the human body. Hygiene bases its
practical rules upon the theories of physiology; gymnastics is founded upon the
elementary principles of anatomy; and, in general, physical education applies
the great laws of the science of the body, just as intellectual and moral
education applies the great laws of the science to the soul.
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE CHILD. Let us add that
for the body, as well as for the soul, there is an infancy
that is to say, a peculiar state of growth which precedes maturity. It is not,
then, merely the general physiology and anatomy of man that the educator is
bound to consult, but, in order to be really fit to fulfil his task, he should himself construct, as a rule for his procedure, a
real physiology of the child. Like the psychology of the child, his physiology
is a history which accompanies little by little the evolution of the body, the
successive formation of its organs, and the organization of the different parts
of the nervous system.
Let
us not forget that the child is not a ready-made being, a finished product, but
a weak and fragile creature, " whose muscles,
nerves, and organs are in the milk, so to speak," and develop but
gradually, owing to a slow but incessant growth.
IMPORTANCE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCEPTIONS. It is doubtless
to parents in particular that falls the obligation to
know enough of the laws of life not to abandon the education of their children
to the quackery of nurses and to blind and irrational modes of treatment. In
one of his eloquent pages Mr. Herbert pencer has
reminded them of their duties on this point.
"To
tens of thousands who are killed, add hundreds of thousands that survive with
feeble constitutions and millions that grow up with constitutions not so strong as they should be, and you will have some idea of
the curse inflicted on their offspring by parents ignorant of the laws of life.
Do but consider for a moment that the regimen to which children are subject is
hourly telling upon them to their life-long injury or benefit, and that there
are twenty ways of going wrong to one way of going right, and you will get some
idea of the enormous mischief that is almost everywhere inflicted by the
thoughtless, haphazard system in common use. Is it decided that a boy shall be
clothed in some flimsy short dress, and be allowed to go playing about with his
limbs reddened by cold? The decision will tell on his whole future existence,
either in illness or in stunted growth, or in deficient energy, or in maturity
less vigorous than it ought to have been, and consequent hindrances to success
and happiness. Are children doomed to a monotonous dietary,
or a dietary deficient in nutritiveness? Their
ultimate physical power, and their efficiency as men and women, will inevitably
be more or less diminished by it.
Are
they forbidden vociferous play, or (being too ill-clothed to bear exposure) are
they left indoors in cold weather ? They are certain
to fall below that measure of health and strength to which they would else have
attained." 1
But
though the responsibility in this matter rests chiefly upon parents, teachers also,
if they have neglected to inform themselves of the laws of the physical life,
if they set them at defiance by unreasonable commands or by ill-timed
prohibitions, teachers also may exercise a fatal influence upon the health and
vitality of children. Then let them take a serious view of their
responsibilities, and study with care anatomy and physiology as presented in
the normal schools. Let them supplement these studies by their personal
observations upon the children of their schools; let them take account of their
physical aptitudes, of their differences in temperament, and of the natural
weakness or strength of their constitution. Thus prepared in the lessons which
they give in gymnastics, in their precautions and advice in matters of hygiene,
they will not be the mere routine adherents to a programme, but will the better
execute the orders whose meaning and application they comprehend. They will put
a liberal interpretation upon the dead letter of the law; through their
personal experience, and through then- enlightened interest in the particular
temperament of each child, they will make this letter a living thing.
POSITIVE
AND NEGATIVE EDUCATION OF THE BODY.
Granting
everything that can be claimed for the natural vigor
of the child's constitution and of his spontaneous development, there still
remains a vast field of activity open to the previsions of the educator.
On the one hand,
the life of the child must be shielded from everything which may be the cause
of disturbance, dissipation, and debility, of whatever would have a tendency to
impair bodily health, such as excessive brain labor.
Here, properly speaking, is the domain of negative physical education, that
which consists in conserving and protecting the natural forces, and which is
almost all summed up in prohibitions, in the warnings pronounced by hygiene.
On the other hand,
it is necessary to supplement and stimulate the work of nature, to develop and
fortify the physical powers; and this deliberate intervention becomes more and
more necessary, in proportion as the intensive culture of the intellect is
carried to excess, and to the abuses of intemperate study and overcrowded
programmes.
This will be the
purpose of a positive physical education, of an education which will comprise
all the exercises and all the sports of childhood, all the practices
recommended by hygiene, and all the movements which constitute gymnastics.
Hygiene and
gymnastics, these are the two elements of physical education, and both are
equally necessary. The first is, in some sort, a good method of conduct, a kind
of ethics for the body; the other is to physical activity what study is to
intellectual activity, a wholesome and strengthening exercise. Both conspire to
endow the body with health and vigor; but hygiene has
especial reference to health, and gymnastics to vigor.
FOOD
AND CLOTHING. Without saying, with Feuerbach,
that "man is what he eats," and without accepting the absolute
assertion of Herbert Spencer, that "the well-fed races have been the
energetic and dominant races," we cannot accord too much importance to
alimentation, to the quality and the quantity of food.
Mr. Spencer
declares that there are too many rules in the nursery, just as there are too
many in the state, and that one of the greatest evils resulting from this state
of things is that children are too much restricted in their diet.
"The food of
children," he says, "should be highly nutritive; it should be varied
at each meal ; and it should be abundant." 1
The child, then,
should eat till his hunger is satisfied. Eating to excess is the vice of adults
rather than of children. Indigestion, with children, is almost always brought
on by a reaction against privations, against a prolonged fast.
As to garments,
they should be full and loose, so that the body shall feel at ease in them, and
that nothing shall interfere with the functions of the organism.
"Hygienists condemn the premature use of the corset for girls,
and at all times the tunic for boys." 2
Locke, with his
usual austerity, required the child to play bareheaded, and never to wear warm clothing ; he even favored the
idea of requiring him to wear the same garments winter and summer. Mr. Spencer,
on the contrary, finds that it is folly to clothe children in thin garments.
The French criticise the English custom of allowing children to go bare-legged
and thinly dressed ; while the English
blame the French for
the silly things invented by the Petit Courrier des
dames, which recommends garments that are either inconvenient or insufficient.
1 Mr. Spencer concludes that if clothing should not be so heavy as to produce an uncomfortable warmth, it ought always to be warm enough
to prevent all feeling of cold.
NECESSITY
OF PLAY. This is not the place to discuss exhaustively the question of sports. In
fact, sports do not affect physical education alone ;
they have intimate relations with the culture of the imagination and with
aesthetic education, and we shall have occasion to return to the subject.
But it is well to
state before going further how important it is, from a sanitary point of view,
that the child should play, and how much it were to be regretted should the
habit of playing disappear from our schools, as it tends, alas ! to disappear from social life.
"Play in the
open air, which invites to jump, to run without interruption, to shout at the
top of the voice, which causes the blood to circulate vigorously, and gives color to the cheeks, this is the agent of all others for
physical development. The English and the Americans well know this, and with
them play is a national institution."
The French, on the
contrary, play less and less, and the fault is due in part to the habits
contracted in the colleges, and also in part to the teachers, who, in general,
have disparaged sports too much, ' ' those nothings
which are everything in the life of a child." Froebel
is almost the only one who has given that attention to the subject which it
merits.
"We should
not consider play," he says," as a frivolous thing ; on the contrary,
it is a thing of profound significance By means of play the child expands in
joy as the flower expands when it proceeds from the bud ; for joy is the soul
of all the actions of that age."
PHYSICAL
EXERCISES IN ENGLAND. Physical
education still counts so many adverse critics among the French that it is not
useless to invoke the example of foreign nations. No one will deny that the
Anglo-Saxon race stands in the front rank among the human races, and it owes
its superiority in part to its taste for physical exercises.
On this point let
us quote the testimony of an acute observer, M. Taine.
1
"There are
gentlemen in England,"
he says, "whose ambition and training are those of a Greek athlete. They
restrict themselves to a particular diet, abstaining from every excess in food
and drink. They develop their muscles and subject themselves to a rational
system of training
"Sports hold
the first place, said an Eton master, and books the second. A boy stakes his reputation on being a
good athlete. He spends three, four, five hours a day in boisterous and violent
exercise. He will splash about for hours in ploughed fields and miry meadows,
falling into the mud, losing his shoes, and pulling himself out as best he can
The university continues the school, and in it there reigns an active, popular,
almost universal taste for athletic exercises. Playing at cricket, rowing,
sailing, training dogs to hunt rats, fishing, hunting, riding on horseback,
coaching, swimming, boxing, fencing, and recently amateur soldiering, these are
the most interesting occupations for the young men Doubtless muscular training
carried to such an extent entails some rudeness in manners ;
but, by way of compensation, this athletic and gymnastic discipline has this
double advantage, that it chills the senses and calms the imagination.
Moreover, when the moral and mental life is afterwards developed, the soul
finds, to support it, a more healthy and a more
substantial body."
We do not desire,
any more than M. Taine does, to disguise the faults
which this extreme attention to the physical life, this mania for muscularity,
is likely to engender. Plato, two thousand years ago, drew the portrait, but
little flattering, of the man who trains only his body, "who lives in
ignorance and awkwardness, with no symmetry and no grace." 1 English
education must often end in producing coarse natures, dolts; but, on the other
hand, it hardens the body and tempers character.
CONCLUSION. It is only till
lately that the theory and the practice of education have given to physical
exercises their proper place; and already, in presence of the progress, still
uncertain, of gymnastics, some minds have taken the alarm. It is to be feared,
some say, that the new generations may be trained to passive obedience through
the development of physical exercises." It is even said that education,
thus conducted, lowers man towards the level of the beast. 2 This is surely
misplaced zeal to hurl anathemas against a thing the most innocent and the most
legitimate in the world, the development of physical power. If it were
necessary to choose between mind and gymnastics, we would freely exclaim, Long
live mind ! Down with gymnastics !
But surely there is no need of such a choice. The mind can derive only good from a moderate exercise of the body. As to saying that
the habit of passive obedience will be the result of this new taste for
physical discipline, it is to forget that well-worn truth that a man is so much
the more free, so much the more independent, as he has
more power at his disposal. "We have never observed that in the religious
orders, where passive obedience is most strongly recommended, and where the
maxim perinde ac cadaver has reigned, much attention
has been given to physical development. In such cases asceticism has
flourished, not gymnastics.
6. Intellectual
education/upbringing
Intellectual
education is situated at the base of cognition and is completed by other types
of education.
Intellectual
education has the goal to form intellectual individual offering a system of
knowledge that is fundamental for each person. Its role is to develop
intellectual capacities and abilities. Intellectual education starts with
cognitive techniques: writing, reading, counting, and ability to complete
knowledge with derivate information from known information.
Intellectual
education is based on mental activity that results in skills, abilities,
aptitudes and capacities. Through intellectual activity a person gets
personality being intellectually educated. And at its turn a personality
differs from person having unique interests, skills and intellectual level.
So if the main
objective of intellectual education is cognition, then the main goal of
intellectual education is to form independent personality with unique thinking.
It is also oriented upon self-development. Intellectually independent person
features an independent way of thinking and an independent way of acting.
Independent thinking means own values deduced from life experience; own life
concepts based on reality and facts; own goals and tendencies; own arguments
and explanations; etc.
Intellectual
education is not just a huge collection of facts, events, phenomena, or
theories; it is also practical application of knowledge.
There are several
theories that help accumulate knowledge. One of them is behaviorism.
Behaviorism is a science that studies human behavior. This theory explains that at the base of human behavior is situated experience. Human spirit of an adult
is an empty pot that during his/her life is filled with experience. While,
spirit of a child is a white sheet of paper "tabula
rasa", on which can be written
everything.
The behaviorist theory sustains that cognition is the result of
interdependent stimulus and reaction to it. This
action-reaction system is also called associationism.
The neurons are
highly stimulated by action-reaction repetition that becomes a habit. Basing on
this were practiced techniques of learning and teaching like: repetition, punishments,
exercise, etc.
It has to be
mentioned that intellectual education offers only raw knowledge that need to be
adapted to each person or by each person. It doesn't develop some kind of
talents or features that are not linked with intellectual activity, unless
intellectual skills lead to development of other capacities.
In our days
intellectual level of people is very different. In modern world society there
are analphabets and geniuses. There are no limits to
cognition and there are no rules that can determine how much information one should
know. But we can say for sure there is a substantial difference between an
intellectually educated person and an intellectually undeveloped one.
Intellectual abilities open doors and assure half of ones success. Knowledge has never destroyed people,
ignorance did.
Healthcare professionals
may be involved in giving advice to people about physical training. Such advice
may be given to healthy individuals, patients with a variety of medical
conditions or even professional athletes. Appropriate levels of physical
activity are important for good health and should be promoted by healthcare
professionals.
Advice on exercise
and physical training is best tailored to the individual. The advice will vary
according to the individual's current state of health, their fitness, available
resources and the aims and motivation of the individual.
Initial assessment
Physical training may
be started for a variety of reasons. It may be initiated by the individual or
promoted by healthcare professionals in the course of comprehensive medical
care.
Whatever the
reason for discussing physical training, it is helpful to ask the individual
some basic questions before embarking on a more detailed assessment and setting
realistic targets.
What is the
motivation?
Exploration of
motivating factors should allow for encouragement and positive reinforcement.
For example:
What are the
associated aims and objectives? What is the individual trying to achieve?
There may be a
very specific target (for example, running a marathon, or achieving specific
weight loss).
There may be more
general aims (for example, looking and feeling better, reducing risk factors
for disease).
Clarification of
this will help to understand the motivation and enhance this where appropriate
with additional information, ideas and supporting evidence of benefit.
What is their
current state of health and fitness? For example:
What is their past
and present exercise routine?
What is the
current weight and body mass index (BMI)?
Have they got any
health problems? This may require a detailed history if the individual is not
known to the doctor.
What forms of
exercise and training are preferred, possible and appropriate? For example:
Does the chosen
form of exercise suit the aims and state of health?
Common options
include:
Gym
membership.
Personal
trainer.
Home
training programme.
Group activities
(for example, keep fit clubs).
Specific
sporting activities.
Use
of community facilities (for example, leisure centres, swimming pools, etc.).
Integration
of training with other physical activities (for example, work, commuting and
activities of daily living).
Motivation
Even if an
individual is healthy and highly motivated to train or exercise there may still
be a role for medical advice. Excessive exercise or a training routine which is
having an adverse effect on health, fitness or the achievement of objectives
may need advice and modification (for example, in anorexia nervosa). Motivation
may need modification but often encouragement and reinforcement are all that is
required.
It is much more
common outside professional sport to have to help, understand and improve the
individual's motivation. It is also more likely that general health (rather
than sports injuries) will be important to consider when giving advice on
physical training and motivating people to take up exercise.
The reasons why
individuals may be motivated to take up physical training are many and include:
Specific
targets or ambitions (for example, running a marathon, raising money for
charity, weight loss, etc.).
Participation
in recreational or professional sport.
Social
and psychological benefits.
Achievement of
entry standards for certain careers, such as the armed forces, police or fire
service.
More
general benefits (for example, general wellbeing, looking better, confidence,
quality of life, etc.).
Reduction
of risk factors for disease (particularly when there is a family history).
Management
of disease.
Reinforcement of
motivation
Often it is
necessary merely to reinforce and encourage existing motivation. This can
include emphasis of any one or more of the many benefits of exercise:1,2
Improved
cardiovascular and respiratory reserve.
Weight
control.
Reduction
in blood pressure and the risk of hypertension.
Improvements
in blood lipids.
Reduction
in cardiovascular risk.
Reduction
in risk of type 2 diabetes.
Benefits
to mental health (including relief of stress and aggression3).
Reduction
in the risk of osteoporosis (certain forms of exercise).
Enhancement of
smoking cessation.4
Reduction of falls
and fractures in the elderly (improved balance).
It may prevent, or
slow, development of dementia.5
Assessment of
health and fitness
It is possible to
do very extensive and detailed assessments of both health and fitness. Whether
health and fitness are assessed in advance of physical training will depend on
why training is being undertaken and on the person undertaking the training.
Clearly, very often physical training is done without any formal medical
consultation and with minimal medical history (for example, gym questionnaires,
etc.). It is often done purely for insurance purposes.
The assessment may
need to be detailed where specific activities or training are to be undertaken.
However, it is usually sufficient to advise on known
medical history without conducting exhaustive examinations or investigations.
Consideration should be given to risk factors for disease and any existing
diseases when giving medical advice on fitness. For medicolegal
reasons, care should be taken in the wording of any endorsements of fitness for
exercise or exercise programmes.
It is usually
appropriate to make an assessment of health and fitness prior to exercise:
When given as part
of even general health promotion by the patient's GP.
When given because
of specific diseases or disease risk factors.
For activities
which carry specific risks to health or have specific contra-indications.
When required by
insurance companies or other interested third parties (for example, sports
clubs, gyms, sporting associations, etc.).
Medical conditions
and training
See also separate
articles Heart Disease and Exercise and Diabetes Diet and Exercise.
Medical conditions
are rarely a total bar to exercise but they may often impose limitations or
require modification of training programmes. Others involved in helping,
encouraging, coaching or teaching people with medical conditions may be made
aware if appropriate to help support the individual concerned and to maintain a
safe environment for all. Careful individual assessment is required. Common
examples include:
Asthma:
Asthma is common
and affects children and adults. Asthma action plans or care plans should
incorporate advice on exercise. Asthma may influence the choice of activity. It
can be more troublesome in sports which involve running. It is less troublesome
in cycling and least troublesome in swimming.
Good control
should be demonstrated. Improvements in control of asthma may be required when
symptoms limit performance.
As mentioned in
the separate article Drugs and Sport, beta agonists are subject to regulation
but this is relevant only for professional athletes subject to drug testing.
Clearly, then a doctor will certify that medication is necessary and used by
inhaler for asthma.
Angina pectoris and
intermittent claudication:
Cardiac
rehabilitation is essential for those recovering after myocardial infarction.
It involves advice and graduated physical training programs.
Pain should not be
ignored. Exercise may be beneficial and enable the person to extend the time
before the pain of angina or claudication demands
cessation.
Exercise should be
unhurried and attempts to increase the distance should not be too ambitious.
Glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) may be used before exercise.
Betablockers may extend the
duration of exercise in angina (although, generally, they are an impediment
because they slow the heart rate response to exercise).
Other heart
disease:
Strenuous exercise
should be avoided in aortic stenosis and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
(HOCM) as it can cause sudden death.
Hypertension is
only a contra-indication to exercise if it is severe and uncontrolled. Once
reasonably controlled, exercise is beneficial.
Diabetes:
Exercise
metabolises glucose and increases tissue sensitivity to insulin. This is
important with vigorous exercise in those on insulin.
When vigorous
exercise is anticipated, the diabetic should reduce insulin and increase
carbohydrate 20 minutes before exercise.6 Control can be complex when training
is intensive but, as witnessed by prominent diabetic athletes, success at a
high level can still be achieved.
'Fast glucose'
should be available for symptomatic hypoglycaemia.
It is also
important to remember that rehydration after sport
should not be alcoholic, as alcohol depresses blood glucose.
Arthritis:
As a general rule,
arthritis benefits from exercise, although goals should be realistic.
The notable
exception is an acute inflammatory arthritis that needs rest.
Depression:
There is some
evidence that mild depression in young people may benefit from an exercise
programme but the evidence is not very strong.7
Obesity:
Exercise and
physical training are important for obese patients to improve weight loss and
are an essential part of a return to health and fitness.
Caution is
required because obesity is also a risk factor for other diseases, including
heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and arthritis.
Methods in physical
training
Introduction
Methods to
optimise physical performance and improve physical training have advanced in
recent years. Some of this has arisen from the demands of sports which are
increasingly the province of professional athletes and commercial demands.
Physical training may involve:
Stamina
or endurance.
Speed
or rapid movements.
Strength.
Flexibility.
Co-ordination
and proprioceptive skills.
Activity
or sport-specific skills.
Physical training
programmes
These can be
tailored to suit motivation, aims, fitness, health and preference for equipment
and methods of training. Familiarity with any equipment is important. Personal
trainers will devise a physical training programme around such considerations.
Frequency of
training
Training should be
neither too frequent or infrequent. Muscles need recovery
time. The physiology of exercise dictates that care should be taken to devise
programmes which are appropriate. Generally, variety in the type of exercise
taken is beneficial and avoids, for example, overuse or the development of
imbalances in posture from asymmetric or unbalanced strengthening. This is
particularly important in adolescents when muscle growth is very rapid.
Equipment
Expensive
equipment is not required. Comfort is essential.
Trainers should
give adequate support and have good cushioning. They should be correctly
fitted. Feet swell a little on exercise and so trainers may need to be slightly
large when tried on cold. A pair of sports socks gives extra protection and
absorbs sweat.
Weight loss
For some people,
loss of weight will be the prime objective of physical training. For others it
will be a secondary but important gain. Indeed trying to lose weight without
exercise is extremely difficult. Exercise is more than burning extra calories
during training. Nevertheless, diet must not be forgotten and alcohol is also a
potent source of 'empty' calories.
Insulin is
strongly anti-lipolytic whilst catecholamines
facilitate lipolysis.8 This means that it is a potent
force in preventing the breakdown of fat. Exercise suppresses insulin secretion
and so facilitates the metabolism of fat. It is said that it takes 20 to 30
minutes of exercise before 'fat burning' starts. However, it is affected by
many factors, including intensity of exercise and relationship to food intake.
Type 2 diabetics have high resting levels of insulin but lipolysis
will occur in them at higher levels of insulin.9 Hence,
type 2 diabetics can successfully exercise and burn fat.
The rate at which
fat is metabolised is dependent upon the rate of exercise. Exercise is often
measured by the percent of maximal heart rate that is achieved as this is much
easier to measure than percent of VO2 maximum (the maximum amount of oxygen in
millilitres one can use in one minute per kilogram of bodyweight). If a person
exercises at a rate of about 80% of maximum heart rate, most of the energy is
provided by carbohydrate whilst only a minority is derived from fat. This can
be calculated by the ratio of oxygen consumed to carbon dioxide produced,
provided that the subject is not exercising at an anaerobic level. At 60% of
maximal heart rate, the ratio is reversed and most energy comes from fat rather
than carbohydrate. If maximum heart rate in beats per minute is 220 - age in
years, calculation will show that 80% of maximum is not exceptionally onerous
whilst 60% of maximum is a very leisurely pace.
Longer periods of
less intense exercise are likely to be better for weight loss. Some people discount
the concept of 'the fat burning zone'. More intense exercise may burn a lower
percentage of fat but a higher total amount of fat. There are other variables
such as an enhanced ability to metabolise fat with physical training.10
With exercise, the
early weight loss is not sustained (weight may even rise as fat is replaced by
muscle). Vigorous exercise is followed by about 36 hours of a higher basal
metabolic rate that is not seen after lower levels of exercise. The basal
metabolism of muscle is rather higher than the fat that it replaces.
Weight training
Muscle strengthening
exercises are part of physical training and can involve use of weights.
Individuals may
use weights to maintain physical appearance.
Strength training
is important for many sports.
It can prevent
injury and is part of rehabilitation after injury. It can prevent recurrence of
injury - for example, after injury to knees, shoulders and backs.
Strength training
as part of general physical fitness enhances the metabolism of fat.
There are certain
rules or guidelines for weight training:
Always warm up on
cardiovascular equipment before moving on to weights.
An exercise
programme for one set of muscles (agonists) should be accompanied by a
programme for the opposing set of muscles (antagonists). For
example, biceps and triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings.
Do not try to lift
excessive weights or injury will result and set back training.
As a general rule,
using heavy weights that can be lifted just once before needing to rest is a
less effective method of training than having less iron on the bar but doing
more repetitions. This may not be true for power-lifting but it applies for
most weight training. Repetitions should start at 8 to 10, working up to 12
before increasing weights progressively at subsequent sessions.
Weight training
sessions should not take place on consecutive days. Muscle building sessions
should be at least 48 hours apart, although it is possible to do upper body
work on one day and lower body work the following day.
Fitness training
Fitness training
involves work on stamina and endurance. It comes in various forms and the
profile of fitness required in different activities is varied. For example:
Running 400
metres requires the ability to drive on and maintain
anaerobic exercise whilst blood lactate levels are very high.
Long-distance
running is more aerobic, although a fast finish may involve an anaerobic
flourish.
Field sports, such
as football, rugby and hockey, involve sprinting mixed irregularly with slower
running at intervals over a long period of time. They require the ability to
exercise anaerobically but with a rapid recovery time.
All this may be
simulated in the gym or outdoors. Runners need both speed and stamina and so a 400
metres runner may train over 300
metres for speed and 500
metres for stamina. Even a 100
metres runner may train over 80 and 120
metres. Field sport athletes who need rapid recovery may
train with activities which simulate match demands. In the 1970s there was a
vogue for very high mileage training and distance runners may have trained by
running 50 to 80 miles
a week. This is no longer recommended. It leads to exhaustion and overuse
injury.
The person who
just wants to 'get fit' may start with some distance training, then insert some
brief anaerobic training and finally aim for rapid recovery training. However, many
people will be content to function at a much lower level.
Nutrition and
hydration
Advances in
nutritional medicine, the demands of professional sport and the increasing
engagement of individuals with a healthier lifestyle have all helped
dissemination of knowledge about healthy diets.
Diet is an
important component of training. If weight loss is an aim, consumption,
especially in the evening, should be reduced. In extreme exercise, taking in
adequate calories can be a problem. Competitors in the Tour de France may be
using 9,000 calories a day, and taking in that level of energy can be
problematic.
People who aim to
build a great deal of muscle eat a considerable amount of protein to do so.
Protein is essential to build muscle. However, there is a tendency to eat
vastly more protein than can be used to build muscle and even lean meat is
quite high in fat.
Just a few decades
ago steak and chips would be served at Twickenham to international rugby teams
about to compete. Such a high-fat diet before exercise is ill-advised. Fat
delays gastric emptying. Nowadays most teams and athletes have pasta before
exercise. If a top level football team is competing with a kick-off at 3 pm,
they will have a largely carbohydrate lunch at about 11.30 am.
A more scientific
approach towards diet is one of the many reasons for improved standards in
modern sport.
Nutrition includes
adequate hydration. Even a fairly moderate level of dehydration has a
significant effect on performance and this is an aspect that is now much better
understood.
Doing
regular physical activity can make you feel good about yourself and it can have
a number of benefits for your health. For example, it reduces the risk of
developing heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some cancers, type 2
diabetes and osteoporosis. Regular physical activity also helps to control
weight, and may help to ease stress. Ideally, you should aim for at least 30
minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on at least five days of the
week. You should also aim to do a minimum of two sessions of
muscle-strengthening activities per week, although these should not be on
consecutive days.
What
is physical activity?
Physical
activity is any activity that you may do that helps to improve or maintain your
physical fitness as well as your health in general.
It can include:
·
Everyday activities.
For example, walking or cycling to work or school, doing housework, gardening,
DIY around the house, or any active or manual work that you may do as part of
your job.
·
Active recreational activities.
This includes activities such as dancing, active play amongst children, or
walking or cycling for recreation.
·
Sport.
For example, exercise and fitness training at a gym or during an exercise
class, swimming and competitive sports such as football, rugby and tennis, etc.
How
much physical activity should adults do?
Adults
should aim to do a mixture of aerobic activities and muscle-strengthening
activities.
During
the daytime, all age groups should minimise the amount of time spent being
sedentary (sitting).
Under-5s:
·
Physical activity should be
encouraged from birth, particularly through floor-based play and water-based
activities in safe environments.
·
Children of pre-school age who are
capable of walking unaided should be physically active daily for at least 180
minutes (3 hours), spread throughout the day.
Children
and young people (aged 5-18 years):
·
Moderate-to-vigorous intensity
physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day.
·
Vigorous intensity activities,
including those that strengthen muscle and bone, should be incorporated at least
three days a week.
Adults (aged 16-64 years):
·
Over a week, activity should add up
to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in
bouts of 10 minutes or more. For example, 30 minutes on at least five days a
week.
·
Comparable benefits can be achieved
by 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or
combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
Older
adults (aged 65 years and older):
·
Older adults who participate in any
amount of physical activity gain some health benefits. Some physical activity
is better than none, and more physical activity provides greater health
benefits.
·
Older adults should aim to be active
daily and, if possible, aim for the same amount of physical activity as younger
adults.
Aerobic
activities
Aerobic
activities are any activity that makes your heart and lungs work harder. To
gain health benefits, government experts in the UK suggest that you should do at
least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the
week.
·
30 minutes
is probably the minimum but you do not have to do this all at once. For
example, cycling to work and back for 15 minutes each way adds up to 30
minutes. A recent study showed that even less time may have some health
benefits.
·
Moderate intensity physical activity
means that you get warm, mildly out of breath, and mildly sweaty. For example,
brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing, badminton, tennis, etc. However,
as mentioned above, normal activities that are part of your daily routine
(everyday activities) may make up some of the 30 minutes. For example, fairly
heavy housework, DIY, climbing the stairs, or gardening can make you mildly out
of breath and mildly sweaty.
·
On most days
means that you cannot store up the benefits of physical activity. You need to
do it regularly. Being physically active on at least five days a week is
recommended.
The
amount of physical activity that you do may need to be a little more in some
situations:
·
If you are at risk of putting on
weight, you should ideally build up to 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity
physical activity on most days to help to manage your weight.
·
If your body mass index (BMI) was in
the obese category and you have lost a lot of weight, or if you are in this
situation and you are trying to lose weight, you should ideally build up to
60-90 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days to help
manage your weight.
Muscle-strengthening
activities
In
addition to the above aerobic activities, adults should also aim to do a
minimum of two sessions of muscle-strengthening activities per week, although
these should not be on consecutive days.
Muscle-strengthening activities can include climbing stairs, walking uphill,
lifting or carrying shopping, digging the garden, weight training, Pilates,
yoga or similar resistance exercises that use the major muscle groups. Ideally,
the activities and exercises should not only aim to improve or maintain your
muscle strength, but also aim to maintain or improve your flexibility and balance.
A session at a gym is possibly ideal, but activities at home may be equally as
good. For example, stair climbing, stretching and resistance exercises can be
done at home without any special clothing or equipment.
A session should be a minimum of 8-10 exercises using the major muscle groups. Ideally,
to help build up your muscle strength, use some sort of resistance (such as a
weight for arm exercises) and do 8-12 repetitions of each exercise. The level
(weight) of each exercise should be so that you can do 8-12 repetitions before
the muscle group gets tired. So, for example, for the upper arm muscles, hold a
weight in your hand and flex (bend) your arm up and down 8-12 times. This
should make your arm muscles tire.
You can do the exercises one after another to complete a session. Or, you can
split a session up over a day in, say, bouts of 10 minutes.
What
about older people, children and teenagers, and pregnant women?
Older
people
If
you are over the age of 65 you should still aim to do the same amount of
aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening activity as younger adults, depending
on your ability. As well as this, a particular goal for older people should be,
where possible, to do activities to help with flexibility and balance.This is
to help reduce the risk of falls, and injury from falls. Examples of activities
to help flexibility include yoga, housework such as vacuuming, and DIY. Examples
of activities to help balance include dancing, tai chi or keep fit classes. Special
keep fit classes for older people are available in many areas and will usually
include activities for flexibility and balance.
Children
and teenagers
Children
and teenagers should get at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical
activity per day. The 60 minutes can be made up from various shorter sessions
and a mixture of different activities. For example, a mixture of play, Physical
Education (PE) at school, games, dance, cycling, a brisk walk to school,
sports, various outdoor activities, etc.
Pregnant
women
It
is safe to continue to do some physical activity during pregnancy. However, the
type of activity that you choose needs to be appropriate. A separate leaflet
called 'Pregnancy and Physical Activity' discusses this in more detail
What
are the health benefits of physical activity?
The
health benefits of doing regular physical activity have been shown in many
studies. You are likely to get the most benefits to your health if you are
someone who is not very active at all and you become more active. However,
there are still benefits to be gained for anyone who increases their physical
activity levels, even if they are already doing 30 minutes of moderate
intensity activity on most days.
Overall, people who do the recommended levels of physical activity can reduce
their risk of premature death by 20-30%. Other health benefits include the
following:
Your
risk of developing coronary heart disease, such as angina or a heart attack, is
much reduced if you are regularly physically active. Inactive people have
almost double the risk of having a heart attack compared with those who are
regularly physically active.
If you already have heart disease, regular physical activity is usually advised
as an important way to help prevent your heart disease from getting worse. Special
rehabilitation physical activity programmes exist if you have had a heart
attack or have another heart problem. These are supervised by physical activity
specialists who can help you do physical activity safely.
Stroke
Physically
active people are less likely to have a stroke. One study found that women aged
45 and older who walk briskly (at least three miles per hour), or who walk for
more than two hours a week, reduce their risk of stroke by a third compared
with less active women.
Cholesterol
Regular
physical activity has been shown to raise levels of high-density lipoprotein
(HDL) cholesterol. This is good cholesterol because it may actually help to
protect against cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease, stroke and
peripheral vascular disease). HDL cholesterol seems to help prevent patches of
atheroma forming. These are like small fatty lumps that develop within the
inside lining of arteries (blood vessels) and are involved in the development
of cardiovascular disease.
High
blood pressure
Regular
physical activity can help to lower your blood pressure levels if you have high
blood pressure. It can also help to prevent high blood pressure from
developing. High blood pressure is one of the risk factors for heart disease
and stroke.
Diabetes
If
you are regularly physically active then you have a lower risk of developing
type 2 diabetes than inactive people. The greater the amount of physical activity
that you do, the lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you have
been diagnosed with impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes), regular physical
activity can help to prevent this from developing into diabetes. Also, if you
already have type 2 diabetes, regular physical activity can help improve the
control of your diabetes.
Weight
control
Physical
activity helps you to burn off excess fat. Regular physical activity combined
with a healthy diet is the best way of losing weight, and keeping that weight
off.
Bone
and joint problems
Regular
weight-bearing physical activity can also help to prevent osteoporosis
(thinning of the bones). The pulling and tugging on your bones by your muscles
during exercise stimulates bone-making cells, which strengthens your bones. If
your bones are stronger, you have a reduced risk of breaking your bones when
you are older. (Weight-bearing physical activity means physical activity where
your feet and legs bear your body's weight, such as brisk walking, aerobics, dancing,
running, etc.)
Physical activity has also been shown to help treat osteoarthritis and lower
back pain in some people.
Cancer
Regular
physical activity can help to reduce your chance of developing cancer. It
roughly halves your chance of developing cancer of the colon (bowel cancer). Breast
cancer is also less common in women who are regularly physically active.
Mental
health
Physical
activity is thought to help ease stress, boost your energy levels and improve
your general well-being and self-esteem. It can also help to reduce anger. As
well as this, physical activity can make you sleep better. (But do the activity
during the daytime or early evening, not near to bedtime.)
Keeping
you mobile and more able to live by yourself
Regular
physical activity throughout life can help to keep you more mobile as you get
older. Still being mobile is one of the things that helps older people remain
independent and able to live by themselves at home. As mentioned above, as you
get older, flexibility and balance exercises are important to help reduce your
risk of falling and becoming injured. If you are aged over 70, you are less
likely to fall and be injured if you are regularly physically active.
Memory
loss and dementia
Regular
physical activity may help to prevent some types of dementia. If you do have
dementia, regular physical activity may also help to keep you mobile for
longer.
Smoking
cessation
Increasing
physical activity levels has been shown to help people trying to quit smoking. It
can help to reduce your desire to smoke and can also help with withdrawal
symptoms.
There
are many benefits to regular physical activity for children. It helps with
healthy growth and development and, if children are physically active, they are
less likely to become overweight, or obese, adults. A recent study found that
teenagers who carry a gene for obesity are less likely to become overweight or
obese if they are physically active for an hour a day. If an overweight child
becomes an overweight or obese adult, they are more likely to develop health
problems, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer.
Regular physical activity also helps children to socialise and mix with others
and helps with their psychological well-being. A study that took place in Southern California also found that children with average
or above-average fitness levels did better in terms of their academic
performance than children with below-average fitness levels. However, more
studies are needed to confirm this potential benefit.
Are
there any risks with physical activity?
There
are only a few reasons why physical activity may be harmful. A common wrong
belief is that physical activity may be bad for the heart. On the contrary,
physical activity is good for most people with heart disease provided they
follow guidelines given by exercise specialists or health professionals. In
general, if you gradually build up to do regular moderate intensity physical
activity, the potential benefits to your health will greatly outweigh the small
risks involved.
However, sometimes
problems can occur with physical activity:
·
Injury is possible. Sprains, and
sometimes more serious injuries, are a risk with some types of physical
activity. You can cut down your risk of injury by warming up before any
activity, and by wearing the correct footwear.
·
Endurance sports such as marathon
running can sometimes cause stress fractures in bones. Prolonged endurance
exercising can mean that some women stop having their monthly periods.
·
In rare cases, sudden death can occur
in people who are doing some physical activity. However, most of the time,
there is usually an underlying heart problem (which may not have been
previously diagnosed) and it is the excess stress that is placed on the
person's body during exercise that causes the sudden death. It should be
stressed that, in general, regular exercise protects the heart.
Do
I need to see a doctor before I start a physical activity programme?
If
you have a problem or medical condition that you are worried may be made worse
by physical activity, then see a doctor before starting a programme to increase
your physical activity levels. In particular, you should see your doctor before
you start if you:
·
Have a known heart condition or have
had a stroke.
·
Have any chest pains, particularly if
chest pain is brought on by exercise.
·
Have had falls due to becoming dizzy
or blacking out.
·
Get very breathless on mild exertion.
·
Are intending to start a vigorous
physical activity programme.
·
Are worried that a joint or back
problem may be made worse by increasing your physical activity levels.
Tips
when considering increasing your physical activity levels
Physical
activity is not just for young sporty types. It is never too late to start to
gain the benefits, no matter how old or unfit you are.
·
If you are not used to physical
activity, it is best gradually to build up the level of activity. Start with 10
minutes and over time build this up to 30 minutes. Brisk walking is a great activity to
start with.
·
One big obstacle is the uphill battle
to become fit. Many people feel that the first few attempts at physical
activity are quite a struggle. Do not get disheartened. You are likely to find
that each time it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
·
Try to keep physical activity high on
your list of priorities. If one kind of activity becomes boring, try switching
to another type. A variety of different activities may be better. Physical
activity needs to be something that you enjoy or it will not be something that
you will keep up.
·
Some people set their goals too high.
For example, aiming to run a marathon. This may take too much time, you may
lose enthusiasm, and physical activity may become a drudge. Be aware of this pitfall.
·
Use everyday activities as part of
your physical activity programme. Consider a brisk walk to work or to the shops
instead of using a car or bus; take the stairs in the office or shopping centre
and not the lift, etc. Reduce the amount of time that you spend being inactive
(watching TV, sitting in front of a computer screen, etc).
·
Remember to include some
muscle-strengthening exercises.
·
Talk to your doctor or practice nurse
about any groups or initiatives in your local area. For example, Exercise
Referral Schemes run in some areas. They are programmes designed especially for
people with various medical conditions (such as asthma, high blood pressure,
type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety, depression or
obesity) who may benefit from increasing their physical activity levels. There
are also a number of government campaigns and initiatives aimed at increasing
physical activity levels in everyone. Details can be found below.
Using a pedometer
A
pedometer is a small device, usually worn on a belt, that counts the number of
steps that you have taken, by sensing the motion of your hips. Many people find
it a useful tool to help with motivation and monitoring when trying to increase
their physical activity levels.
Wearing a pedometer on an average day can give you a baseline for the number of
steps that you generally take. A very sedentary person will take between
1,000-3,000 steps per day. However, most people are in the range of 4,000-6,000
steps per day.
About 30 minutes of brisk walking should be around 3,000 steps. So, a good
target could be to add 3,000 steps to your baseline number and aim for this. You
may want gradually to build up by increments of 500-1,000 steps. The magic
number to aim for in the end is at least 10,000 steps per day. It is thought
that if you can manage this, it will help to keep you fit and healthy.
Recent
research has suggested that a sedentary lifestyle in general may have adverse
health effects even if you do the recommended amounts of moderate
exercise. A sedentary lifestyle may still increase your risk of obesity,
diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
It is not certain why this is and further research is needed. However, it is
thought perhaps to be related to the effect that sitting down too much has on
certain enzymes in the body which help to process fat and sugar.
So to combat this:
·
Take regular breaks from your desk
while you are at work (a short break of a few minutes every hour).
·
Take the stairs and not the lift.
·
Walk to the shops instead of taking
the car.
·
Stand up while you are talking on the
phone.
·
Don't spend hours sitting in front of
the television, etc.
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