Exercise and Your Heart Rate

During exercise, working tissues in your body usually need more blood with oxygen and nutrients. Then, your heart enhances its pumping activity by increasing the heart rate and the force of contraction (contractility). It is necessary to raise the heart rate within a certain range (target heart rate/THR) for maximum health benefits. Therefore, you should maintain your heart rate within THR during the workout. Exceeding THR is likely to harm you and your heart. It will put your health at risk.

Angina and Workout

Angina is a symptom of ischaemic heart disease. It is a central chest pain, which is usually described as ‘gripping’, ‘heavy’, or ‘tight’. Anginal pain may go to the arms and/or jaw. It can range from a mild ache to a very severe pain, which provokes fear and increased sweating. Sometimes, it may be associated with shortness of breath.

Usually, angina develops during physical or mental exertion. It disappears by stopping physical exertion or using glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). The main cause of angina is a narrowing of a coronary artery or its branch by fat deposits in the arterial wall (atherosclerosis or plaque build-up). Two coronary arteries and their branches supply blood to the heart muscle (myocardium). Atherosclerosis can partially occlude a coronary artery, causing insufficient blood flow to a particular part of the heart muscle. During an exercise, the heart works hard to pump more blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the working tissues. Therefore, the myocardium needs more oxygen, which is not sufficient in angina.

Exercises for a Better Pregnancy and Childbirth

Some people believe that exercises are unsuitable during pregnancy. However, physically fit women normally have shorter labours compared to others. They also experience less physical exhaustion during childbirth and tend to have fewer medical interventions as well. Regular exercises during pregnancy improve fitness and health of the organ systems. Therefore, they decrease discomfort and help have a better sleep during pregnancy. Exercises help keep up your body weight during pregnancy and go back to the normal weight following childbirth. They also improve your mood.

If you feel shortness of breath, contractions, or lightheaded during any exercise, you should stop exercising and drink enough water.

Exercise and Your Nervous System

Your nervous system is among the two primary control systems of your body. Other control system is your endocrine system. The nervous system regulates the voluntary and involuntary activities and functions of the body. Therefore, it works with other organ systems in a coordinated manner and regulates their functions. It helps respond to challenges like exercise, sports, physical activities, and diseases. Your nervous system can be easily divided into central and peripheral nervous systems. However, these two parts work together closely. The central nervous system basically consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system mainly contains sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) nerve fibres (these nerve fibres arise from the central nervous system) as well as the motor end plates on muscle fibres, and sensory receptors.

Exercise and Your Digestive System

Your digestive system (gastrointestinal system) helps absorb micronutrients, macronutrients, electrolytes, and water from the food you consume. Therefore, it is important for your health as well as the normal functions. The macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The micronutrients are minerals and vitamins. These nutrients are essential to create the basic structure of your body and regulate the normal functions of cells and tissues. Without adequate amounts of nutrients, you cannot keep up your health, perform exercise and physical activities, and train for athletic and sport competition.

Exercise and Your Urinary System

Your urinary system mainly contains two kidneys, two ureters, the urinary bladder, and the urethra. Each kidney connects to the urinary bladder through a ureter, which is a tube-like structure. The bladder is a muscular hollow, and elastic organ, which can store urine temporarily. It connects to the outside via the urethra, which is a tube. A renal artery supplies the blood, oxygen, and the nutrients to each kidney. A renal vein carries blood from each kidney.

The urinary system basically helps eliminate waste products from your body and regulate the volume, electrolyte concentration, and the acidity (pH value) of the body fluids (in the blood, cells, and the tissues) within the normal range. It controls long-term acid-base balance, because changes in the metabolism cause alterations of the acidity (pH value) in the body. Therefore, it keeps up the internal environment stable. During the metabolism, the cells produce various waste and toxic substances. Your urinary system removes most of them (except for carbon dioxide and some others) via urine. It mainly helps regulate the volume and osmolarity (a measure of electrolyte concentration) of your body fluids by handling water and sodium balance within the body.

Exercise and Your Respiratory System

Your respiratory system mainly consists of the airways, the lungs, and the respiratory muscles. The respiratory muscles include the muscles of your chest wall (internal and external intercostal muscles) and the diaphragm. Sometimes, the neck and the abdominal muscles also help breathe. The respiratory muscles produce respiratory movements hence the inhalation and exhalation. During inhalation (inspiration), they help expand your lungs and create a low pressure within the lungs compared with the environment. Therefore, the air moves into the lungs from the outside. While in exhalation (expiration), the respiratory muscles reduce the expansion of your lungs, increasing the pressure within the lungs than the environment. Consequently, the air moves to the outside from your lungs.

Exercise and Your Cardiovascular System

Your cardiovascular system basically contains the heart, blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries), and the blood. It takes oxygen from your lungs and helps transport oxygen, nutrients, other substances via the blood to all tissues throughout your body. It also facilitates nutrient absorption from your gastrointestinal tract as well as the elimination of waste products from the tissues. Your heart muscle (myocardium) rhythmically contracts to pump the blood throughout your body. This rhythmical activity is regulated by the nervous system and the endocrine system.

Exercise and Your Skeletal System

The skeletal system is the basic structure of your body, which consists of various types of rigid bones. It basically helps generate movements of your body, offering a lever system and protects the internal organ systems and other tissues. It also acts as a large storage of minerals, which is important to the normal functions of the body. Bone marrow is a soft tissue within the bone. It produces your blood cells. The skeletal system offers structural support and helps transfer your body weight to the ground through the lower limbs. During any movement of your body, the skeletal system should work with your muscular system in a coordinated manner to generate the particular movement. This coordination is done by your nervous system. Your muscles contract or relax in a coordinated way to move certain bones producing specific movements. This also helps maintain the body position as you wish.

Exercise and Your Muscles

Your muscular system basically consists of three types of muscles. They are skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscles. These muscles contract and produce force according to the signals from your nervous system. Therefore, they create movements of your body.

Skeletal muscles, which are attached to the bones, contract with the help of the nervous system and create specific movements of the body. They are under your control and are ready to move as you wish. Skeletal muscular activity generates energy as well as heat. Therefore, it helps keep up your body temperature within the normal range. This process is known as the thermogenesis.

Importance of Warming-up Your Body

Why is warm-up important? Why should you warm-up before any workout plan or active sport? It helps prepare your body physically and mentally for high-intensity as well as high-volume physical activities. Warm-up lowers the risk of injury too. It should be started with mild-intensity aerobic exercises and/or exercises, which raise the range of motion (ROM) of the joints. Then, it may be increased in intensity gradually until the person is prepared for more vigorous activities. The intensity of warm-up should be low and should not exhaust the particular person. Usually, warm-up lasts for about five to twenty minutes. Normal warm-up raises the body temperature in about one to two degrees of Fahrenheit.

20 Health Benefits of Resistance Training

All of these health benefits are more prone to be achieved in two 15-20 minute training sessions weekly.

Resistance training,

• Reduces body fat and helps maintain or cut the body weight. Therefore, it prevents being overweight or obese.

• Reduces the risk of developing hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and stroke.

• Reduces the risk of some cancers (colon, breast, endometrial, and lung cancers).

• Improves the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.