Grooving to health: Singer Madonna is well-known for her love for working out. Photo from madonnascrapbook.blogspot.com Many Filipinos regard exercise as a fad, or chore, or merely a sign of personal virtue. But being physically active is natural for humans, as it is for all animals. We’re wired for it. Thus, the largely sedentary existence of vast numbers of people is a historical aberration of the past century, made possible primarily by labor-saving devices, motor vehicles, desk jobs, and increased leisure time spent in front of TVs and computers. Our sedentary lifestyles, together with the obesity epidemic they help foster, have taken a big toll on our health. They have put a drag on the improvements in well-being and longevity made possible by medical advances and positive lifestyle changes, such as the reduction in smoking rates in recent years. It’s tempting to think that feeling fatigued, being winded when going up the stairs, and no longer being able to carry heavy bags, are natural parts of aging. But many of the declines in physiological functioning we associate with getting older are largely the consequence of inactivity and being unfit. Being physically fit won’t stop the biological clock, of course, but it can slow it down. “Use it or lose it” is truer than ever. Many people say that they do want to be fit, but they don’t know how. Today’s article offers a scientific but practical guide on how you can achieve lifelong fitness. The elements of fitness There are Read More …
