Benefits Of Sports Are Good For Balance

Most sports will stimulate arms, legs, hips, and stamina. The correct pendular motion of a golf or tennis stroke depends on letting your arm track gravity. In climbing or hiking, you propel your weight up a slope, working against the force of gravity. Though his wife may have thought he was doing it for macho reasons, he saw the romantic side of carrying his clubs. I like having the clubs kind of wrapped around me, he said. Ideally I like to walk and carry. You may stroll or you may power walk, you may take a leisurely bike ride or pedal harder, you may swim laps, use a rowing machine or kayak, skip rope, ski, skate, play badminton or volleyball, or dance. If your heart rate increases, that’s an aerobic exercise, and if you keep at it, you will build stamina and endurance. Eventually, as you grow fitter, your heart rate will not go up as high when doing the same amount of work and you will be able to sustain your effort longer. This indicates your level of cardiovascular fitness, though not necessarily your strength. Henry Zalzal, a former Egyptian Davis Cup player, enjoyed a good game of singles. At 83, on doctor’s orders, he was allowed to play tennis doubles every day before having a light lunch with his partners.

Real Life Challenges

An additional note about swimming is needed. As a competitive swimmer in my youth, I confess to my bias, but swimming is one of the kindest yet most effective exercises you can do. It spares your joints from injury by unweighting your body. Anyone, at any age, and many persons with disabilities, can do it. Unfortunately, there is a mistaken belief that by merely sitting in water we derive some benefit. Remember doing these in school? I did not suggest these but you are welcome to try if you have kept up your fitness. Please do not hurt yourself! He left with a determined look to rediscover fun. If you can add a little hop, so much the better. If you can negotiate a hop, keep it up, and you may be able to jump soon. Try jumping jacks again if your joints will let you. Start with a few and gradually increase your stamina, smiling and singing all the time. Learn to ride a bicycle if, like me, you never learned as a child.

Surprise Surprise

If you’ve got a rowing machine, combine your rowing with a favorite travel destination. Get a map and track your progress in rowing miles. You will be in Fiji in no time. It can range from an upright rocking motion or kneeling once a day to the more elaborate genuflection five times a day. A recent Malayasian study found significant medical benefits on the cardiovascular system, blood, as well as muscle and bone resulting from the solat daily prayer.4 Five times a day, starting at dawn and ending at sunset, each solat consists of 2, 4, 4, 3, and 4 bowing units, or raka’t, respectively, for a total of 17 per day. By moving around instead of sitting in front of the computer, you’ll be getting the benefits of walking, reaching for items on shelves, and carrying packages. Your eyes will feast on the visual displays in shop windows. You will see other shoppers, what they look like, what they are wearing or not wearing and you may even make a new friend or two. Develop your own habits list. Rediscover the joy of doing things for yourself as well as for others. The point is not to show off that you can do whatever you used to, but that you can rediscover the joy of playing and being active.

Viva La Vida

How about flying a kite? Many people do this now, especially to stay out of the cold in the winter. The stores are closed, so it costs you nothing. You’ll be stimulating your nerve connections. The hippocampus memory cells light up with energy when one is doing recall exercises. Do something all day long, every day. Don’t believe that because you exercised for 30 minutes or an hour three or five days a week you have fulfilled your daily gravity requirement. Bring out the child in you! Rediscover the joy of playing, the feel of your body getting stronger, and your chest swelling with pride and satisfaction at taking that first independent step. Are you afraid to make a fool of yourself? Remember learning how to ski? What about riding a bicycle? I had my first go at 60! The neighbors, including a Michigan congressman, turned out to watch this phenomenon. When I could more or less keep my balance, I tried a right turn. It took a while before I mastered the left turn. It opened up a whole new experience and it was so good for my balance. They make the most of gravity, and by their very nature include limitless varieties of movements that benefit your whole body. You will slim down, too. Just add up how many calories you would burn with all these activities throughout the day and you will find that they total more than you can burn during your workout. Because of their relatively low intensity and being spread out throughout the day, these movements lend themselves to becoming lifelong habits. They are easy to sustain because they contribute to an effortless way of life. In England, there is a move back to hanging out clothes on a line to dry instead of using the electric dryer. The Energy Savings Trust and councils across the country are promoting the return of the peg, not for better health and fitness, but on the basis of saving money, and our planet. Stretching up to hang out wet clothes and collecting them later all add to the cumulative movement credit. Improvement in usual gait speed predicts better survival in older adults. Make the Most of Your Body for the Rest of Your Life. Most of us are not training to be elite athletes. They all seem to be important.