Physical activity can be considered to be an essential health habit that one should inculcate during every stage of life. However, it is a fact that less than 25% of the American citizens are able to satisfy the present physical activity guidelines of at least 150 to 300 minutes of physical activity which is of moderate-intensity or at least 75 to 150 minutes of strenuous aerobic physical activity in combination with a minimum of 2 muscle-strengthening activity sessions every week. Moreover, as compared to men, women do not have the opportunity to get many physical activities at present. Go on reading the subsequent paragraphs to know why physical activity is imperative to the health of women across their entire lifespan.
Fitness in the 20s: Emphasize Maintaining Healthy Bones
A protective framework is provided by our bones for our bodies. Bone happens to be a living tissue and new bone is added to the skeleton frequently during adolescence and childhood. These types of “deposits” enable the bones to become heavier as well as stronger. For the majority of individuals, peak bone mass, which happens to be the optimum amount of bone that an individual will ever have, takes place in the 3rd decade of life. After achieving peak bone mass, bone resorption, which happens to be the procedure of bone mass getting lost at a quicker rate than the rate in which it is formed, becomes more probable. Unlike men, females are affected by bone degenerative ailments disproportionately (such as osteoporosis).
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases is known to encourage lifestyle behaviors like ingesting food items rich in calcium and vitamin D plus staying away from excessive intake of alcoholic beverages as well as smoking to minimize the risk of degenerative bone ailments and bone loss. Exercise also plays an important role when it comes to bone health. It will be feasible to weaken the bone degeneration process by incorporating weight-bearing workouts within your physical activity regimen on a regular basis. Hiking, brisk walking, weightlifting stair climbing, as well as high-impact sports like tennis, happen to be fantastic activities for enhancing and maintaining bone health.
Fitness in the 30s: Attain Ideal Cardiovascular Health
Heart ailment is considered to be the foremost cause of demise internationally for men as well as women. Nevertheless, females have poorer health outcomes following a heart attack plus cardiovascular ailment diagnoses. Even though scientists are working for comprehending why and how men and women are affected by heart disease in a different manner, the majority of them are of the notion that the reasons are multidimensional and consist of aspects linked with exposure to first-as well as second-hand smoke across one’s lifespan, the timing of the diagnosis, plus identification of heart ailment symptoms. Similar to lots of other chronic ailments, the cardio disease develops gradually and does not give any warning signs on most occasions. The American Heart Association’s present strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular ailments focuses on 7 health and behavioral factor metrics for achieving perfect cardiovascular health. These metrics consist of the following behaviors:
• Adequate physical activity
• Refraining from smoking
• A healthy and balanced diet
• A healthy body weight and an ideal energy balance
Health aspects
• Optimum blood pressure sans any medication
• Optimum total cholesterol sans any medication
• Optimum fasting blood glucose sans any medication
Perfect cardiovascular health happens to be the secret to minimizing your risk of a heart ailment. Providing priority to your heart health while you are in the 30s will help to minimize your risk for cardiac ailments in the future.
Fitness in the 40s: Maintain Lean Muscle
Sarcopenia, or muscle loss related to age, starts when you are approximately 40 years of age and continues at a rate of approximately 5 pounds every 10 years. Even though it is quite simple to become too much worried about the concepts of muscle loss, such as gain in weight plus alterations in body shape and size, the more significant issue happens to be functional capacity. When losing an excessive amount of muscle, it becomes quite tough to perform our daily activities without assistance (for example, lifting, reaching, as well as sustaining personal hygiene).
Even though traditional wisdom has led a lot of individuals to come to the notion that muscle loss happens to be a normal process of becoming older, other things are suggested by exercise science literature. For instance, a cross-sectional analysis of recreational sportsmen between 40 and 80 years of age did not find any significant losses in muscle mass as well as function amongst those who exercised regularly. It will be imperative to perform a couple of resistance training workout sessions every week targeting all the major muscle groups for enhancing muscular fitness and also preventing muscle loss. Try to perform multijoint workouts and achieve balance by targeting agonist as well as antagonist muscle groups.
Fitness in the 50s: Stay Active and Fit Through Menopause
Menopause takes place when the ovaries stop producing estrogen and a female does not have menstrual periods anymore. On average, one experiences this condition when she is 51 years of age. Besides reproductive and hormonal changes, many females have modifications in their sleeping habits plus levels of energy during this period. Regular workouts as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle have been solicited by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for taking care of the health-related changes and discomforts that might come with menopause. Mind-body workouts like yoga help to improve subjective well-being in the long run.
Fitness in the 60s: Exercise for Preventing Falls
Baby boomers, who had arrived in this world between 1946 and 1964, happen to be more active as compared to their parents at their age. This is definitely positive news since physical activity happens to be amongst the most essential habits that can be adopted by you for maintaining health throughout your life. In life’s 7th decade, prevention of fall becomes of utmost importance. Approximately 25% of the older adults fall each year, and injurious falls happen to be a leading cause of disability and death after 65 years of age, and females experience more falls as compared to men.
Fall-prevention programs ought to consist of neuromotor workouts which challenge coordination and balance, train gait, and also enhance muscular fitness.
