How to Exercise Right & Stay Healthy

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Staying healthy is built on a foundation of regular exercise and requires commitment to long-term lifestyle changes. The benefits of maintaining a healthy routine include a life of reduced illnesses, an overall sense of well-being, better sleep and a longer lifespan. To exercise in a beneficial way and stay healthy necessitates making adjustments on multiple levels of your daily life.

Instructions

1. 

   Progressing slowly with weights allows your body to adapt to using them.

   Pick a favorite activity for life. Whether you prefer to walk, run, bike, swim, play a sport or practice a martial art, decide which single activity you are willing to do every day. There may be limitations to your ability, snow may prevent you from bicycling or your local pool might only have public swims twice a week. If any of those are the case, pick two activities you can alternate. Commit to regular, physical exercise doing those exercises at least three to five times a week for 20 to 30 minutes a session with a warm-up before and a cool-down after every session. As your stamina improves, increase your activity, such as running instead of walking, or from martial arts to aerial arts.

2. 

   Yoga provides a healthy exercise, stress reduction and muscle toning all in one.

   Stay flexible. Long-term conditioning and health maintenance require more than regular exercise; they require allowing your muscles the chance to grow and adapt to the physical activity. Stretching five minutes after physical activity prevents injury and can even increase range of motion. Engage in practices such as yoga, tai chi or Pilates for both exercise and to stretch and tone your muscles. Harder conditioning, such as a martial art or parkour, a physical practice that uses your environment to train your body, requires building your body's strength and keeping your limbs flexible and able to adapt as you tone.

3. 

   A good night's rest can reduce acne and promote hormonal balance.

   Sleep. A full night of restful sleep allows the body the chance to recharge and repair itself. It also allows the mind to switch tasks and focus on processing the day's events. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night for optimal health.

4. 

   Vegetables, fruits and whole grains are good sources of healthy minerals and vitamins.

   Eat foods in season and heavy in fiber, protein and natural sources of vitamins and minerals. The Harvard School of Public Health has created a food pyramid with exercise at its foundation followed closely by vegetables, fruits, healthy oils (such as olive oil, grape seed oil and other monounsaturated fats) and whole grains, such as brown rice and oats. Protein sources should primarily come from fish, nuts, seeds and poultry. These foods provide your body with the fuel to keep going each day, and high-fiber consumption allows for better digestion of protein, reducing incidences of indigestion, constipation and gas. Eating a small meal in the morning, a large, protein-rich meal in the afternoon and a light, fiber-heavy meal in the evening takes advantage of the human body's natural rhythms across the day.

5. 

   Brushing your teeth and gums can keep cardiovascular disease at bay.

   Brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day, preferably after every meal. The mouth allows a host of bacteria into the body, and maintaining good dental health corresponds directly to good health overall. Poor dental hygiene is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and even low birth weight in infants.

6. 

   Water is important for all bodily functions.

   Hydrate your body. Your body requires daily replenishing of fluids to operate at its peak. Drinking at least 64 oz. of water each day supports kidney function and promotes healthy skin. Increase water intake when engaging in challenging physical activity; keep a water bottle with you when exercising.

7. 

   Practice safer sex with barrier methods and honest communication.

   Practice safer sex. Sexually transmitted diseases can wreak havoc even on the healthiest of bodies. Communicate with your partner with whom you intend to have sex, discuss recent test results, sexual history and prophylactic use. Barrier methods, such as male or female condoms, dental dams and gloves, help prevent an exchange of infection from one individual to another.

8. 

   Meditation after a warm bath can be very relaxing.

   Reduce stress. Stress can have a positive effect on our lives -- planning a wedding or international travel can be exciting. However, when negative stress is acute or becomes chronic, it can raise cortisol levels, bring out depression or cause health problems within the body. Practice deep breathing, meditation and similar relaxation techniques to aid you in reducing stress. Pursue a spiritual path if you follow one, take up a hobby or write your thoughts in a daily journal. Give yourself time to be by yourself and in a state of calm awareness, and allow your body to recover from stressors in your daily environment.

9. 

Tips & Warnings

• Seek the advice of a trusted health care professional before making significant changes to your diet or activities, especially if you already have health conditions that require consultation.

• Visit your preferred health care professional for regular checkups; get tested for conditions for which you might be at risk and discuss recent changes in your diet, stress levels and physical or sexual activity.

• Congratulate yourself when you make small improvements to your daily habits.

• Avoid exercise programs that emphasize building muscle fast; these tend to create results in the short term but do not allow your tendons to gain the flexibility necessary for long-term health.

• Be wary of fad diets that starve your body of needed nutrients or promise immediate results; any major change in diet will result in water weight loss, which does not reflect long-term effects and may mask damage done to muscles, such as the heart, when starving your body.

References

• "Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan"; Carole Lium Edelman and Carol Lynn Mandle; 2006
• National Sleep Foundation: How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?
• Harvard School of Public Health: Healthy Eating Pyramid
• MedWire News; "Poor Oral Hygiene Linked to Increased CVD Risk"; Caroline Price; May 28, 2010
• Rachel Chapman, Ph.D.; University of Washington Anthropology Department; Seattle, Wash.