Benefits of Regular Exercise Program - Assignment Example

? Benefits of Regular Exercise Program of the Health Sciences and Medicine of the Concerned August 24, Benefits of Regular Exercise Program Over the years the research studies have come to the conclusion that not only a sedentary lifestyle is associated with varied health risk factors, but pursuing a regular exercise program is associated with multiple health benefits. Thereby, to accrue maximal health benefits it is not only vital to pursue a regular exercise program, but it is also imperative to desist from pursuing a sedentary lifestyle and resorting to habits that qualify to be sedentary in their scope and implications (Buckworth & Dishman, 2008). Before enunciating the benefits culled from a regular exercise program, it is pragmatic to understand as to what constitutes a sedentary lifestyle and what are the health implications of engaging in a sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary behavior happens to be a physical attribute that stands apart and distinct from what one may call a physical behavior. Sedentary behavior is marked by behavior patterns that are given to, too much of sitting and shunning of physical activity and a pursuing a lifestyle that is defined by very low levels of the expenditure of energy (Garber et al., 2011). These two attributes happen to be qualified as the two hallmarks of a sedentary behavior. In a practical context, sedentary behavior may include activities like sitting at a desk in an office for prolonged periods of time, sitting before computer screen for long periods of time, driving while remaining seated on the driving seat for long lengths of time and other such activities. Spending long periods of time engaged in sedentary activities on a regular and daily basis is associated with a wide range of health risks. These health risks tend to include a wide array of health associated conditions like a high risk of CHD mortality, a skewing of biomarkers like lipoproteins, blood glucose and insulin in the body that lead to aggravated health conditions, mental disorders like depression, and an increasing of the overall circumference of the waist, a condition that is known to be the precursor of multiple undesirable health conditions (Garber et al., 2011). Thereby, sedimentary lifestyle tends to be utterly detrimental to the maintenance of good health and it could lead to undesirable and skewed health conditions. Hence, it is imperative to desist from pursuing a sedentary lifestyle as much as possible. The good thing is that the disruption of sedentary lifestyle by even modest activities like standing up and walking could give way to the reversal of the associated negative health conditions (Garber et al., 2011). Therefore it is not only important to focus on the physical activity engaged in by an individual, but rather it is also important to gauge the magnitude of sedentary behavior engaged in by a person. The positive side of the story is that pursuing a regular exercise program has come to be associated with an array of health benefits. The available scientific evidence testifies to the fact that not only a regular exercise program is beneficial in a health context, but also that the benefits accrued from pursuing a regular exercise program far outweigh the risks associated with exercise in most of the adults (Garber et al., 2011). Mortality associated with a wide range of factors tends to get delayed by engaging in a regular exercise program in both men and women and in adults of all ages. Engaging in an exercise program on a regular basis lowers the blood pressure, ameliorates lipoprotein profile in the human body, leads to salubrious, positive and healthy weight management and corrects the blood levels of important biomarkers like CHD biomarkers, C-reactive protein and insulin (Garber et al., 2011). On the contrary the decreased physical activity on the part of an individual is closely associated with compromised cardio respiratory fitness. Engaging in cardio respiratory exercise leads to the curtailment of a number of cardiometabolic factors that could lead to many diseases. It also leads to marked improvement in varied other cardiometabolic factors like amelioration in hypertension, and improvements of conditions like dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, etc (Garber et al., 2011). However, the thing that needs to be noted is that the benefits accrued by pursuing a regular exercise program get manifold enhanced by accomplishing the commensurate favorable dietary changes that tend to have a favorable impact on the outcome of a regular exercise program (Garber et al., 2011). In that context the thing that needs to be noted is that flexibility has a positive impact in a regular exercise program. Pursuing a regular exercise program that includes cardio respiratory exercise, neuromotor exercise training, resistance training and flexibility associated exercises above and beyond the activities pursued by an individual in the day to day life is not only beneficial but rather happens to be essential in case of most of the adults (Garber et al., 2011). Flexibility is of paramount importance in a regular exercise program and the exercise program being pursued by an individual needs to be adjusted and modified in the light of the person’s regular levels of physical activity, the stated goals, physical functions, exercise responses and the overall health status (Garber et al., 2011). The positive thing is that the adults who are averse to performing the levels of exercise as stated could also benefit by pursuing less than the recommended levels of exercise. Care needs to be taken to achieve a combination of vigorous intensity exercise and moderate intensity exercise to achieve the optimal energy expenditure. Warm up before exercise and cool down after exercises do play an important role in a regular exercise program. Muscle stiffness is closely associated with muscle injuries and thereby the warm up warms the muscles before engaging in exercise (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011) . The warmed up muscles are capable of contracting and relaxing at an increased speed. Warm up also allows for an enhanced economy of movement owing to the enhanced viscous resistance in the warmed up muscles (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011). Warm up also facilitates the oxygen utilization by the warmed up muscles. Warm also salubriously impacts the muscle metabolism and nerve transmission at high temperatures (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011). Simply speaking warm facilitates an enhanced blood flow to the warmed up tissues. It also works up the heart rate for beginning the exercise program (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011). Proper cool down facilitates the dissipation of the metabolic waste products generated during the exercise including the lactic acid (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011). It also curtails the potential of DOMS (Anspaugh, Hamrik & Rosato, 2011). Cool down helps the heart rate to return to its normal level. It helps reduce the levels of adrenalin in the blood. Overall the warm up and cool down protect the body from exercise associated injuries and shocks and prepare the body for the intensity of activity that is to be achieved in the successive time periods. In needs to be mentioned that the resistance training facilitated through an array of weights and exercise machines could really play a beneficial role in improving the muscular fitness. Resistance training engages an array of varied muscle groups including the muscle groups like chest, arms, shoulders, trunks, legs, back and hips. In addition isolation exercises target the specific muscle groups like abdominals, biceps, quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. Resistance exercise if engaged in on a regular basis improves the muscle fitness on a wide range of parameters like power, endurance and strength (Garber et al., 2011). This leads to the attainment of overall muscle fitness with the accrual of multiple associated health benefits (Garber et al., 2011). The crux of the matter is that a regular exercise program aids the overall physical well being and improves the physical and mental parameters of health and fitness. In contrast, leading a sedentary lifestyle aggravates health conditions. Flexibility is of prime importance in an exercise program and it needs to be accompanied by proper warm up and cool down, In addition resistance training improves muscle fitness in a wide range of parameters and helps attain accompanying health benefits. References Anspaugh, D. J., Hamrik, M. H., & Rosato, F. D. (2011). Wellness concepts and applications. (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Buckworth, J., & Dishman, R.K. (2008). Exercise Psychology. New York: Human Kinetics. Garber, C.E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M.R., Franklin, B.A., Lamonte, M.J., Lee, I.M., Nieman, D.C., & Swain, D.P. (2011). American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and maintaining Cardio respiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise, 43(7), 1334-1359. Read More