Often times, when children return from playing, they
look quite exhausted and ready for a nap. This is
the most accurate description, and also quite the
truth, as playing is hard work. It’s exhausting to
the mind and body of the child, and it plays an
important role in helping them to become productive
and healthy.

The role of play and exercise in the life of a young
child will provide them with several benefits.
Exercise of the body is a very important part of
keeping the young body fit as it grows into an adult
body. Once we reach adulthood, if we’ve had the
benefit of exercise and play, we all tend to
continue that habit well into our adult years.

Play is also good in the form of participating in
organized sports, coordinated play times, and being
a member of a large group during all of these types
of activities. Playing on this level will teach
us how to interact with peers and perform as a
team with our fellow players. In today’s business
world, these skills are essential.

What we learn in body language, coping skills, and
the interaction of the mind and body during our
interaction with others is invaluable. When we
learn this skills to the fullest, not only will
we learn how to get along with others, but we will
also learn how to interact better with ourselves.

Although interacting with ourselves seems like
a rather pointless exercise, it is actually an
important part of maintaining the best sense of
health and wellness. There will always be times
when our bodies are trying to tell us things
about our physical or mental condition, which we
will simply refuse to listen to.

Through exercise and play, we will also learn
what our limitations are – both physical and
mental. At times of play, you’ll see children
and young adults push themselves to their limit
and beyond. As children, we are all more able
to distinguish between a real limit versus what
society itself calls our limits.

For children and young adults, the pressures of
the world don’t affect them near as much as it
does adults. Children have a much better state of
mind and peace, unlike adults that have let the
outside influence the body and mind, which will
do little more than becoming a dominant factor of
time.

As you can tell, the benefits that are gained from
exercise and play time as children, will benefit
us for the rest of our lives. As adults, we all
too often forget how important both exercise and
play are.

Normally, we want to rush children into their
daily responsibilities, forgetting that at their
age they need play and interaction for their young
minds.

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Anytime you exercise, your brain releases chemicals
known as endorphins that produce a feeling of euphoria,
which is known as “runners high”, which is also very
easy to become chemically addicted to.

Without this rush, you’ll feel irritable and out of
it until you exercise again. Therefore, you’ll go
on exercising and not listen to what your body is
actually telling you – which is to stop.

The main reason addicts will continue to push themselves
lies in what will happen when they don’t work out.
Normally when they are unable to exercise, they will
display signs of depression, anxiety, confusion,
and be less happy with themselves.

Aches and pains
Over exercising doesn’t only affect the mind, but the
body as well. Exercise will initially do what it
is intended to do, give you a fit body but once you
cross the line however, it can drastic. Muscle
damage, osteoarthritis, and heart problems will all
be waiting in the wings if you continue to overdo
it. The body has limits and if you push beyond
that limit, you’ll do nothing but harm yourself.

Obsessive exercise tends to happen among those who
are new to exercise. Therefore, if you are keen
to reap the benefits of getting fit, you’ll tend
to overstep the limits.

The initial signs of over exercise are exhaustion,
which can lead to a build up of fatigue. Keep in
mind, it isn’t only the muscles that are at risk,
but the bones as well. Many people who exercise
push themselves to the point of injuries such as
shin splints or even stress fractures, then refuse
to rest, which causes greater and sometimes even
permanent damage.

Even a brisk walk in the morning doesn’t come
without risk, as walking too much can lead to
osteoarthritis. When you walk, you are working
against gravity. Even though you are exercising
your muscles, you are also harming your knee joints
as well.

Many people who walk up to an hour or more everyday
end up with complaints of aches in the knees. The
fact is, jogging also harms the knees, and too
many sit ups can hurt as well. As with any type
of exercise, moderation is the key.

You should always start off gradually, and combine
several different types of workouts, which is one
thing that obsessive exercisers forget to do. One
of the biggest complication factors of people who
get addicted to exercise is that they will tend
to perform the same workout each and every day,
which further increases the risk of permanent damage.

Think right
You should never work out to the point where you
feel completely exhausted once you have finished.
Your limit with exercise should be 45 minutes to an
hour, four or five days a week. When you are
finished, your workout should leave you feeling
fresh and energetic. Every week should make it a
point to take a day’s break – as your body will
need to relax and rejuvenate.

The key to achieving this completely lies in your
attitude, as exercising is the way to a healthy
life. If you do it only to please yourself, you’ll
defeat the entire purpose when you stand there on
the weighing machine.

If you take things one day at a time and don’t
over do it, you’ll be well on your way to a healthy
body. Exercising can be a lot of fun and a way
to relax, if you don’t rush it. Start off slow
and gradually work your way up. Before you know it,
you’ll know how to prevent injuries before they
happen and you’ll know exactly what you need to
do to remain healthy.

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If you suffer from asthma, you probably think that you
can’t exercise properly or safely. Contrary to what
many think of this subject, there are ways that you
can get in shape and exercise, even if you suffer
from asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that is marked by
characteristics such as coughing, wheezing, shortness
of breath, and chest tightness. Asthma tends to occur
with people who are genetically or environmentally
presdisposed to the condition.

Some of the triggers that may start or make an attack
worse include exposure to allergens, viral respiratory
infections, airway irritants, exercise, and exposure
to things such as dust mites or cockroaches.

You can prevent asthma attacks by doing the following:
1. Bathe your pets weekly.
2. Don’t smoke or permit smoking in your
home.
3. When mold or pollent counts are high,
you should stay inside with air conditioning.
4. Wash your bedding and any stuffed toys
at least once per week in hot water.
5. Wash your hands every chance you get.
6. Get a flu shot.
7. Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in
the winter months.
8. Be proactive and know your triggers and
how you should avoid them.

Now that you know what you know about asthma, you
may be wondering where exercise fits in. As most
doctors will tell you, you shouldn’t give up on
sports or exercise at all. You just have to be
smart about how you play and take special pre
cautions to avoid attacks.

Almost all doctors agree that the best way to
prevent attacks during exercise is to keep your
inhaler and medication close by. You should never
use the inhaler more than 3 times during a game
or exercise session. If you are up the previous
night with coughing and wheezing, it’s always best
to go light with your exercise the next day.

For something known as IEA (Exercise Induced Asthma),
the symptoms are somewhat different, in the fact
that they appear after 6 – 10 minutes of exercise
and will often be worse in cold or dry air.

If you have IEA, there are several activities that
you can enjoy such as swimming, walking, biking,
downhill skiing, and team based sports. There are
many activities for you to choose from, to ensure
you get the exercise you need as well.

Keep in mind that the condition of asthma isn’t
“all in your head”, it is a real physiological
medical treatment that will require treatment to
prevent and treat. Even though your doctor will
be your best friend in treating asthma, you are
the one who can prevent your symptoms.

Always be smart, take your medication, and be
proactive. Don’t let it put you in a life of
misery – as you can enjoy exercise just like
everyone else.

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Anytime you exercise, you do so in order to try and
maintain good health. You also know that you have to
eat as well, so your body will have the energy it
needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks
of life. For making the best of your exercise, what
you eat before and after you workout is very important.

No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio
workout or a resistance workout, you should always
make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein and
carbohydrates. What makes that determining percentage
of carbs and protein you consume is whether or not
you are doing cardio or resistance exercise and the
intensity level that you plan to work at.

The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal
is an hour before you start. If you plan to work
at a low intensity level, you should keep your pre
workout meal down to 200 calories or so. If you
plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you
will probably need your meal to be between 4,000
and 5,000 calories.

Those of you who are doing a cardio session will
need to consume a mix of 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein.
Doing so will give you longer sustained energy from
the extra carbs with enough protein to keep your
muscle from breaking down while you exercise.

For resistance exercise, you’ll need to eat a mix
of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will help
you get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform
each set you do and the extra protein will help
keep muscle breakdown to a minimum while you
exercise.

Eating after you exercise is just as important as
your pre workout meal. Anytime you exercise,
whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy
in the form of glycogen. The brain and central
nervous system rely on glycogen as their main
source of fuel, so if you don’t replace it after
you exercise, your body will begin to break down
muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert
them into usable fuel for the brain and the
central nervous system.

Keep in mind that mostly during resistance
exercise, you’ll break down muscle tissue by
creating micro tears. What this means, is that
after a workout, your muscles will instantly go
into repair mode. Protein is the key here for
muscle repair, as you don’t want muscle breaking
down even further to create fuel instead of
lost glycogen.

Once you have finished a cardio session, you’ll
need to consume mainly carbohydrates, preferably
those with high fiber. Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat
pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources.
Also, try to consume 30 – 50 grams of there
types of carbs after you exercise. After your
cardio workout, it is fine to eat within 5 – 10
minutes.

Once you’ve finished a resistance workout, you
will need to consume a combination of carbs and
protein. Unlike cardio workouts, resistance
workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating
micro tears.

You’ll need protein as this happens to build up
and repair these tears so that the muscle can
increase in size and strength. The carbs will
not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but
will also help the protein get into muscle cells
so it can synthesize into structural protein, or
the muscle itself.

After your resistance exercise, you should wait
up to 30 minutes before you eat, so that you won’t
take blood away from your muscles too fast. The
blood in your muscles will help the repair process
by removing the metabolic waste products.

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The type of exercise you do all depends on you and
what you like to do. What you hate doing, paying
membership fees, and whether or not to buy equipment
are all things you need to consider as well as
answer.

If you choose something that you don’t like to do,
you aren’t going to keep doing it for a long period
of time. Give it some thought – if you don’t like
jogging, you aren’t going to get up at 6 AM and go
running. If you can’t find something you like to
do, choose something you hate the least, which will
normally be walking.

Walking is great exercise, as it suits all levels
of fitness. Anyone can start a walking program at
any time, it’s normally the intensity and duration
that differs. Walking is also a social exercise,
as it isn’t difficult to find a training partner
to chat with while you exercise. Walking with a
partner will also make time go by faster.

No matter what exercise you choose, you should
start at a low level of intensity and build it up
over a period of weeks, which is essential to the
longevity of your exercise program. If you start
off too hard, you could end up with an injury
which will require time off to get over.

If you are really in bad shape, you should start
off by walking for 10 minutes each day. Then,
increase it by 5 minutes every 2 weeks. To make
things more interesting, you should try walking
a different course every few days. You can also
roster a different friend to walk with you each
day of the week.

If walking isn’t your thing, then you may want
to try a fitness center. They have loads of
variety and normally have trainers on hand to
answer any questions you may have. When you
choose a fitness center, make sure that they give
good service.

If they aren’t willing to treat you well before
you join, then they certainly won’t after you
join. You should also make sure that the equipment
they use is well taken care of. It’s easy to
find out, as all you have to do is listen to the
machines. If they squeak a lot or make noise,
then chances are they aren’t being taken care of.

If you still aren’t sure what you should do, then
you should look into golf or tennis. Both are
good social activities in most areas, and you can
even meet new friends. Tennis is great for fitness
although it isn’t for someone who is just starting
out. If you haven’t exercised in a long time,
then golf may be the best activity for you.

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