Motivation for Working Out
There should be some kind of motivation for people to work out as they do not put enough emphasis on its importance to health. Clubs and organizations could do well to start motivating people and their members to begin a physical fitness program and disseminate information on its effectiveness. Exercises are generally prescribed by doctors to patients. Even patients in the hospital are often advised to have physical therapy and mild exercises after suffering a stroke.
Before beginning a strenuous exercise, elders, pregnant women, and those who are hypertensive patients need to consult a physician for an exercise program. There are exercises for each category, but generally, 30 minutes of physical activity should be practiced daily for health maintenance, 60 minutes to prevent weight gain, and 90 minutes to maintain weight loss. The 30 minutes physical activity could be done in the house and/or in the office, and has no need to go to the gym if one is too busy.
A housewife can divide a 30 minute workout in different house chores; 10 minutes cleaning the house, 10 minutes gardening, 10 minutes stretching, or watching video exercises. To an employee, 30 minutes can be used by walking up to the bus stop and using the stairs instead of the elevator. Anyone could be imaginative in what kind of exercise to do, as long as 30 minutes of physical activity is consumed within the day. Dancing and aerobics aside from being a work out could be an outreach program in a community. It is also some kind of fellowship. It could be done on any day of the week, in the playground, in the church, or in the house of a member.
Doing exercise when someone is alone, can be monotonous, and one often loses motivation to continue. Group walking and jogging work outs could be done by clubs and organization as a physical fitness program at least once a week. As a family activity, all group levels could join here. Families could also visit malls, parks and museums on their free day. Aside from the benefits from exercise, any family will become happier and bonding will begin. The gym provides a systematic work out program. Records of physical weight and activities are done to follow up the program designed for an individual. Improvements are monitored until the desired outcome is obtained. Going into sports are not advised for pregnant women as changes in her body occurs. Pregnant women are heavy in the middle, and their balance is affected and might suffer a fall. Light exercises as in walking and stretching prepares the woman’s body to become flexible in anticipation for the delivery of the baby. It solves simple pregnancy problem like varicose veins, swollen legs and constipation. Exercises should also be done after delivery, to flex muscles, and help in losing weight faster. People should be properly motivated to do work outs. It is always a pleasure to join invitations coming from peer groups, family, and friends to do group activities. But this must be done regularly to become effective, for there is a saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”