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In order to find out how much exercise is enough, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. Do you want to be fit or healthy? It's easy to confuse the terms as they're often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. But in fact they are different in both physiological and psychological terms.
Fitness has been defined in relation to a concept called physical work capacity, or how much work the body can do. A person's fitness can be determined in a laboratory by looking at how much energy they can produce on a cycle ergometer when cycling at a specific heart rate, or on an athletic track by looking at how far they can run in a set time. Fitness can also be understood in relation to a number of components including endurance, flexibility, strength and power. You need to be fit to play many sports, including football, hockey and tennis.
Health, on the other hand, is a broader concept that includes being free from and resilient to disease, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and the quality of our social relationships. Normally, being fit and being healthy go hand in hand, but this isn't always the case. For example, you can be very fit, through playing football for example, but suffer a major health problem such as alcoholism.
Understanding the difference between fitness and health is important because the level of exercise you need to be healthy is less than that needed to get and keep you fit.
Many people want or need to be fit because of the job they do (eg, police officers), the sport they play (eg, basketball) or the body shape they want to achieve (eg, through resistance training).
If you want to be fit, you normally need to follow a structured training programme. Such programmes often take place in specialised facilities such as leisure centres and may be supervised by an exercise leader. Examples of fitness training include circuits, running and weight training.
One of the key variables in achieving a high level of fitness is the intensity of the exercise programme. If you want to be very fit, you may need to exercise at a moderate or high intensity. In achieving fitness goals, most people also become healthier. However, if you don't want to be fit but just healthy, you don't have to exercise as hard.
It doesn't have to be hell to be healthy
If you want to reduce your risk of suffering from coronary heart disease, obesity or mental health problems, research indicates you should be physically active. To achieve these health benefits doesn't require the same intensity of training as becoming fit. You can simply build physical activity into your daily routine, either as a form of 'active commuting' (walking or cycling, perhaps) or in the comfort of a health club. The main message is that it doesn't have to be hell to be healthy.
Some people are put off becoming more active because they think they have to work out at a high intensity, compete with others or wear a designer tracksuit. None of these things are necessary.
Top active living tips:
If flipping the calendar to a new year (or counting off another birthday) makes you anxious, stop fighting Father Time and start working with him. Add 20-plus great years to your life—and help celebrate Health's 20-year anniversary—by making simple lifestyle changes, like joining an aerobics class. Ready to start?
Get moving
Adds 2 to 4 years
Dutch and Australian researchers found that women who do moderate- to high-intensity cardiovascular exercise—like running for 30 minutes, 5 days a week—can live 2 to 4 years longer and live 1 to 3 more years free of heart disease. Running seems to strengthen your heart, as well as other muscles, and lower cholesterol. (A great way to start: Join the Health Girls Gotta Move Running Club.) But if you don't think running is the right exercise for you, just walking 30 minutes a day will lower your heart attack risk by half, says Carol Rosenberg, MD, director of Preventative Health Initiatives for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Illinois and lead investigator of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). "Exercise is the closest thing to a magic bullet," she says.
Eat power foods
Adds 4 years or more
A daily handful of dark chocolate and almonds, plus fruits, vegetables, garlic, fish, and even a glass of wine can increase a woman's life by 4.8 years (6.6 for men), according to research in the British Medical Journal. The foods are rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and other nutrients that can lower your heart disease risk by 76 percent. The age gains also come from a 22 percent drop in breast-cancer risk linked to consuming less fat and fewer calories as you eat more fruit, veggies, and whole grains, the WHI found.
People in other cultures who live to 100 always eat this way, according to John Robbins, son of the Baskin Robbins founder and author of Healthy at 100. "These people," Robbins says, "wouldn't recognize a doughnut."
Quit smoking
Adds 2 to 8 years
The younger you are when you quit, the better. Period. A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that female smokers who quit by age 35 could extend their lifespan by 6.1 to 7.7 years.
Lose the flab
Adds 3 to 4 years
Shed those extra holiday pounds, and you'll celebrate more holidays. Recent National Cancer Institute research shows that being overweight can increase the risk of death by 20 to 40 percent. Other research links being obese to high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. The reasons are unclear, but obesity can shave 3 to 4 years off your life, says Robert Butler, MD, president of the nonprofit International Longevity Center-USA, an affiliate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Check your body mass index; 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and 30 or higher is considered obese.
Play head games
Adds 2 years or more
Many experts believe that mental exercises can keep your brain cells active and more efficient as you age. And they say lifelong learning combined with other healthy-lifestyle habits can prolong your life by at least 2 years. Even one mental boost a week can equal a 7 percent gain in mental sharpness. And the more you do, the greater the percentage, says Gary Small, MD, author of The Longevity Bible. Read regularly, toil over a Sudoku grid, or connect a 1,000-piece puzzle to lower your risk for Alzheimer's by nearly a third, adds Small, chief of the University of California, Los Angeles, Memory and Aging Research Center.
Body fat has a mind of its own. It appears where it wants to, and seems to disappear (under great duress) from all the wrong places. Is there any rhyme or reason to fat distribution?
Here is a complete guide to body fat distribution.
Types of Fat
We have adipose tissue all over the body. This tissue is made of adipocytes (fat cells) whose sole job is to store energy in the form of fat. Body fat distribution differs from person to person. There are generally two types of fat storage: visceral (surrounding organs), or subcutaneous (beneath the skin - about 80% of all body fat (src)).
When it comes to losing fat - it often does not go according to plan. Despite many claims of spot reduction (i.e. "lose belly fat first") - it rarely happens this way.
Specific Areas
| Knee | Fat often builds up on the inside region of the knees in women. |
| Upper Arm | Also common in women, fat build up can occur in the middle to upper area of the upper arm - typically covering the tricep area. |
| Abdomen | Fat buildup around the navel area is common in both men and women. It is also one of the few fat deposits that are also found in slim women. |
| Inner Thigh | Fat storage between the thighs is common in women - but also occurs with men. It is more noticeable in women due to the width of the pelvis that in turn influences the position of the thigh (femur). |
| Outer Thigh | Sometimes called "Riding Breeches" - this area is the most likely place for the pitted or 'quilted' appearance of cellulite. This fat concentration also blends with fat tissue on the inner thigh and the buttocks. |
| Buttocks | Without fat here - sitting would be quite uncomfortable. Fat is held in place by the gluteal fold. If significant fat is lost from the buttock, then only appropriate training can prevent the buttock from sagging down against the thigh. |
| Lower Back | This fat concentration often merges with the buttock area. |
| Chest | Breast tissue comprises the mammary gland (one's 'endowment') surrounded by fat. Men also have atrophied glands and fat in this area. Both sexes gain fat in this area. In men this can sometimes be mistaken for the condition of gynecomastia - a condition that includes not only fat build up, but growth in gland tissue. |
Ethnic Variation
There is considerable research showing that fat distribution varies between ethnic groups. For example Asian adults are more prone to visceral and central obesity than Europeans. Mediterranean women are prone to fat gain in the outer thighs.
Moreover, the way fat is shed is different from person to person. It tends to go from the most recent place it appeared. If your tummy started gaining first - this will be the very last place for the fat to disappear from.
This is why, for example, a man may complain of getting too thin in the face - and yet still have a small 'spare tire' around his waist. Or a woman may complain of a smaller bust, and yet the hips may have barely moved in inch.
This is further compounded by cellulite. With cellulite tissue, fatty acids are contained in a net of fibrous connective tissue. As fat loss occurs the net becomes compressed - making it difficult for the blood supply to readily remove the fat from these stubborn areas.
During weight loss, the following trends have been observed:It can be very frustrating but everybody is different. Stay committed to your training and nutrition - and don't be dissuaded by the commercials and images that show perfectly proportioned clones. Understand how your body works, and set achievable goals accordingly.
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