This contents of this site is for informative purposes only and is not intended to be medical or professional advice. You should consult a medical professional before undertaking a change to your exercise regime or diet to determine if it is suitable for your particular requirements. This is especially true if you or anyone in your family have a history of high blood pressure or heart disease or if you've experienced chest pain whether exercising or not or if you smoke, are obese, have high cholesterol. Any bone and/or joint problems could be made worse by a change in physical activity.
If while exercising you experience faintness, dizziness, pain or shortness of breath at any time you should stop immediately. Information on this site concerning fitness and nutrition is for educational purposes only and is no substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health you should always consult a physician.
The use of any information provided on this site is solely at your own risk.
The benefits of exercise are numerous. It can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%. [1], plus you feel so much better for it!
If it's been a while then try not to be over ambitious. It is preferable to start off by setting small goals - for example going for a 10 minute run three times a week to establish the habit and then build on it. Over ambitious goals often lead to abandonment. Some tips
If you're out of condition (and having previously consulted a medical professional beforehand,) it is important to find an exercise that you actually enjoy. Many people having maintained a sedentary lifestyle choose running as their first choice. Whilst certainly an excellent form of exercise, it is very much like jumping into the deep end particularly if you are out of condition. If this is your choice then it is best to build up slowly, starting off with short runs of no more than 2 miles. Being over ambitious and "starting from cold" often results in an injury, plus if you do not really enjoy it, then you will likely soon drop it.
A few possibilities in order of accessibility:
Walking is not a particularly aerobic exercise, but out of the above is the most accessible in so far to start with (at least short distance up to 3 or 4 miles) no equipment or facilities are required.
Having purchased a set of relatively cheap dumbbells or resistance bands you can adopt a home exercise regime with dumbbells[2] or resistance bands[3] that will increase your muscle strength.
The purpose is not to end up with the physique of bodybuilder, just to slow down Sarcopenia.[4]
A common routine for strength training is to focus on one major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, legs, arms, abdominals) each day and exercising close to failure[5] for that muscle group and then taking two to three days rest[6] before resuming the strength training schedule.
Another inexpensive home aerobic exercise (provided you have a ceiling clearance of 2 feet / 61cm above your head). [7]
An exercise plan developed for the RCAF by Dr. Bill Orban in the 1950s, first published in 1961. The 5BX refers to the five basic exercises. The popularity of the programs in many countries around the world helped to launch modern fitness culture. [8]
Whatever exercise(s) you choose, importantly select one you enjoy and acquire the habit and stick with it. Tips for maintaining a resolution.
A healthy, balanced diet is an essential part to maintaining good health. [7]
Numerous books espousing "the one", raw food, dash, whole food, Mediterranean, Paleolithic, ....List of diets
The NHS Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet. [10]
Don't get obsessive, find a healthy diet that you like, and don't be too harsh on yourself about the occasional treat.
Try to avoid adding salt and sugar to foods. Sugar intake through naturally occurring sugar contained in fruits and vegetables should be sufficiently adequate.
Salt
To remain healthy, you only need roughly 200 to 300 milligrams of sodium per day. [13],[14]. A salt intake of less than 5 grams (approximately 2g sodium) per person per day is recommended by WHO for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death globally.[15]
A healthy balanced diet should ensure that you get all the vitamins and minerals that you require. [16]
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the UK population is fairly significant[17] at ~24% in men and 22% in women. The NHS recommends 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D[18] throughout the year for those indoors all year round and / or wearing clothing covering up most of their skin when outside. Recent research suggests that this recommended amount is too low.[19]
Given the fairly cheap cost of multivitamins you could view it as an insurance policy - topping up in case you are deficient in any vitamin(s) / mineral(s).
The benefits of taking multivitamins.
Sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining our overall health and well-being. Here are some benefits of sleep for a human being:
The vast majority of adults require 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to reap these benefits. Many do state that they can manage perfectly well on 4 hours per night without adverse effects. Unfortunately most are deluding themselves by having trained to get by with insufficient sleep which in the long term will be detrimental to their health. Only about 1% are naturally predisposed to manage with 4 hours a night.
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