Exercise is a form of medicine

With 150 minutes of physical activity per week, you can take charge of your health

Is exercise a form of medicine? Yes, it is. Exercise is now being used as a form of treatment to help slow, stop and prevent the onset of chronic illness. A minimum 150 mins of moderate activity per week is all it takes to better one’s health and lower mortality rate. Some benefits of physical activity as taken from www.exerciseismedicine.org include:

• Reduces mortality and the risk of recurrent breast cancer by 50%
• Reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular and cancer-specific mortality in adults
• Reduces levels of anxiety and depression

Chronic disease is affecting people at a younger and younger age. Childhood obesity is rife and more and more children are being diagnosed as insulin-resistant or diabetic. If left untreated; these can eventually develop into cardiovascular disease.  This can be prevented with 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

It is time to take charge of your health.

Your body is stronger than you think it is

What is HIIT-High Intensity Interval Training? Short bursts of high intensity exercise will allow you to burn a large amount of calories in a short amount of time. You will increase muscle tone and drop body fat whilst improving your overall fitness.  Make sure that you push yourself – your body is stronger than you think it is; at the same time always listen to your body and ensure that your technique is correct to avoid injury.

Try a HIIT Workout at home

There are 5 exercises. For each exercise do 45 seconds work and rest for 15 seconds. Repeat for 3 rounds. Try to only rest for 30 seconds between rounds.

• Jumping squats (Stand with feet slightly wider than hip distance apart. Drop your bum down into a squat position as if you are going to sit into a chair. Squeeze your gluteal muscles and jump up and off the ground. Be sure to land softly.)
• Mountain climbers (Go into a plank position. One at a time, drive your knees up to your chest as if you were running)
• Push ups (Start in a plank position. Keep your body core tight and lower your body toward the ground by only bending the elbows, lift yourself back up again.)
• Side lunges (Stand with feet hip distance apart. Take a big step sideways with the left leg. Bend the left knee and lower into a lunge. Keep right leg straight. Squeeze left gluteal muscle and quadriceps muscle to push you back up to standing position. Repeat on the right side.)
• Plank reaches (Start in a plank position. One arm at a time, reach out in front of you.)

Remember to stretch after your workouts to keep muscles flexible.

The IE Group offers specialised training as part of our personal and professional development programmes.

Work together with our Body and Lifestyle Coach to achieve your personal fitness and health goals for 2017.

Contact www.iegroup.co.za / 011 781 1444 to book a complimentary assessment.