WELL, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
I’m sure we all know that exercise can help with lots of different health conditions; you likely wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that exercise helps to prevent and treat heart disease. It obviously helps with overweight and obesity, and it’s not a stretch to think that it can help with diabetes. But what about low back pain? Depression? Osteoporosis? Cancer?
Studies on the impact of regular exercise have demonstrated a positive link with all of these conditions, as well as improved psychological well-being, via reduced stress (including physical symptoms of stress, called somatisation; tense shoulders, headaches etc), hostility, anxiety and depression, as well as increased job satisfaction, sleep and significant improvements in mood.
A study in 2006 demonstrated up to 30% reduction in all-cause mortality (meaning any cause of death), with just 4200kj of energy expenditure per week via exercise. For your average-weight Australian adult, to reach this figure, you would need approximately 3.5 hours of medium pace walking, 75 minutes of jogging, 90 minutes of circuit training, or around 2.5 hours of moderate weight training.
Exercise is beneficial for everyone, young and old, fit or otherwise. There is a demonstrated graded linear link between the volume of physical activity and health status, meaning that the most physically active people are at the lowest risk of all-cause mortality, and that the most sedentary are at the highest risk of disease and death. The most excellent news to come out of these studies, however, is that the greatest improvements in health status are seen when people who are least fit become more physically active. So if your health or fitness level is low, any exercise can be very helpful and effective.
INTRODUCING FITFORCE!
At LifeForce, we are proud to run our unique FitForce exercise classes, led by me! – Daniel, LifeForce physiotherapist, who has qualifications in Human Movement, Physiotherapy and Applied Functional Science. The FitForce environment is welcoming, all-inclusive and fun, with a focus on identifying individual capabilities, and improving your fitness in many areas including cardiovascular health, muscular strength, balance and general function. The exercises are all able to be modified to take into account your current ability, injuries or symptoms, so all fitness levels are welcome!
The weekly (or twice-weekly if you’re really keen!) small group classes run for 60 minutes, and will likely account for over 50% of your required exercise energy expenditure of the week.
If you would like to know more about FitForce classes, call LifeForce on 82892800.
If you are interested in joining FitForce, we have a special introductory offer for new FitForce clients, where you pay nothing out of pocket for your full functional assessment*, and get 10 sessions for the price of 8, to the value of $117!
Our current classes run at 9.30am on Thursdays and 8.20am on Saturdays.
*Free assessment for those without private health cover. Those with private health cover will pay no gap. LifeForce reserves the right to amend or withdraw this offer at any time.
References
Cole, Z., Dennison, E. and Cooper, C. (2008). Osteoporosis epidemiology update. Curr Rheumatol Rep, 10(2), pp.92-96.
Ernst, E (1994). Can exercise prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis?. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 28(1), pp.5-6.
Verschueren, S., Roelants, M., Delecluse, C., Swinnen, S., Vanderschueren, D. and Boonen, S. (2003). Effect of 6-Month Whole Body Vibration Training on Hip Density, Muscle Strength, and Postural Control in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. J Bone Miner Res, 19(3), pp.352-359.
Photo courtesy of Dream Designs of freedigitalphotos . net
