How To Stay Fit (And The Importance Of This) During The Summer

Umair EKIUncategorized

What is Fitness? 

Whether you are staying in the country this summer or able to travel to another country the importance of remaining active is more important than ever. Fitness is defined as the condition of being physically fit and healthy. Being physically fit and healthy can differ between the individual, but the benefits are the same for us all: 

  1. Weight management 
  2. Stress and anxiety relief 
  3. Immune support 
  4. Reduces health risks and prevents disease  
  5. Increased confidence and psychological wellbeing 

Psychological Wellbeing 

People who exercise regularly have an enormous sense of well-being. They feel more energetic throughout the day, sleep better at night and feel more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives. 

A Healthy Diet 

  1. As well as exercise, being healthy is a vital component of fitness. 
  2. It is important to eat healthily and stay hydrated. 
  3. Ensure plenty of fruits and vegetables and limit the intake of salt, sugar and fat. 

Barriers Towards Exercising 

We all have certain barriers towards exercise and they can differ between us all. The U.A.E heat and Covid are certainly big barriers at present, but there are ways to overcome these challenges. The acronym FITT describes the various factors that determine what kind of physical activity will have on your body: 

Frequency 

  1. The WHO (World Health Organisation) recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.  
  2. This just 22 minutes a day, you could complete this in one go or split this into 2×11 minutes. 
  3.  Short bouts of physical activity can add up to the weekly recommendations and are also likely to be more achievable. 

Intensity 

  1. It can be extremely dangerous to exercise in hot weather. 
  2. Break your 22 minutes into different sections. 
  3. Indoor exercise can be completed all at once or split into 3 x 7 minutes or 4 x 5 minutes.  
  4. Outdoor exercise should be in the morning or evening and in shorter bouts. For example, 10 x 2 minutes or 7 x 3 minutes. 

Time 

  1. Creating time to exercise can be an issue for many. 
  2. Start the day earlier; get up 15 minutes earlier for a short work out and do another before bed.  
  3. Complete 4 x 6 minutes of exercise throughout the day (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm). 

Type  

  1. The types of exercise we can do are limited with the U.A.E weather.  
  2. Take advantage of the wealth of online exercise classes. Many of these are free and can be found for all ability levels.  
  3. If space is an issue, walking and jogging can be done on the spot and will still help you remain active. There are several exercise videos that can be done without equipment and only using a small matted area.