The Athlete

The Benefits of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is what we all need to help reduce our chances of dying from a heart attack, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breast cancer, colon cancer, depression, and anxiety. We need to be physically fit throughout our entire lives whether we’re young or old. Daily physical activity can include the simple things such as gardening, walking the dog, taking the stairs instead of using the elevator, mowing the lawn, vacuuming the floor or even moving furniture around in your living room.

There are many different types of physical fitness that can be done such as cardiovascular fitness, which is usually aerobics. Muscular endurance is the ability to hold a particular position for a period of time like holding a weight above your head or squatting for a period of time. Flexibility is the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion, like being able to do splits or more advanced Yoga. All of these can make you a very physically fit human being.

Getting friends and family involved is a great way to have fun while getting fit. Fitness and weight loss go hand in hand this day and age. Studies show that American’s are the most over weight in the world and the numbers are rising daily. Even children are becoming more and more over weight. Television, computers, and video games seem to be the culprits of that status though. Years ago, you would find children outside playing in basketball, tag, or street hockey. Where are those children today? They are sitting on the couch, a bowl of greasy potato chips in their laps, a bottle of pop in their hands and the television blaring music videos or they’re favorite video game. They aren’t getting any exercise and those potato chips are just adding on empty calories that are turning to fat as we speak.

Parents should be more aware of what they’re children are doing. Walking to the refrigerator and back to the sofa does not count as exercise. Get your children involved in a regular fitness routine, whether it be letting them get a paper route where they ride their bikes or have them join a sports activity at school or their local recreation center. One way or another, help and encourage them to exercise and reduce their chances of becoming obese as an adult.