The DASH diet involves a physical
activity component. Physical activity is
important in reducing weight and in
lowering blood pressure. The benefits of
exercise cannot be emphasized enough.
Pick a program or a variety of programs
that are best suited to your lifestyle and
do at least 20 minutes of exercise 3
times a week. After a month, increase
this to 30-45 minutes, up to 5 times a
week. You will not only look better and
have lower blood pressure, you will
FEEL much better as well.
Walking
Walking has many health benefits
and is a low impact aerobic exercise. Of
all types of exercise, walking is the
simplest, cheapest, and most basic form.
Everyone knows how to walk and
walking requires no special training or
specific gear.
There are many benefits of walking,
which include:
● Lowering cholesterol
● Lowering blood pressure
● Reducing weight
● Reducing risk of diabetes
● Limiting a depressed mood
● Increasing strength
Walking isn’t an exercise with much
of a risk of injury, but when embarking
on any new exercise program it is
important to take it easy on the body.
Don’t plan to walk five miles if you are
just starting out. Be realistic. Start with a
one mile or less for the first few tries,
and then slowly increase your distance
and speed as your body becomes
stronger.
The best thing about walking is that
it is free. You can do it right outside
your front door. It is great to listen to
your favorite music, an audio book, or a
motivational program while walking.
The fresh air and visual impressions are
great for the soul.
Other low impact aerobic exercise
When it is too cold to walk, there are
other light aerobic exercise options that
you can participate in. You might want
to buy a tai chi exercise video or join a
program at your local community center.
There are other light aerobic exercise
programs and activities such as cardio
step exercise, stationary bicycling, or
walking on a treadmill.
These activities might have a cost
involved and a small learning curve, but
they are low impact and carry the same
health benefits as walking. It is
important to always wear proper foot
wear when doing any exercise program
and to stay properly hydrated.
Yoga
Yoga has a non aerobic exercise that
has many health benefits, which include:
● Increased flexibility
● Increased strength
● Balanced mood
● Lower blood pressure
● Weight management
● Reduced stress
● Increased concentration
● Reduced insomnia
● Increased cardiovascular
capacity
It is important to learn yoga from a
trained yoga instructor.
Yoga is a low
impact exercise but it does have certain
risks involved. If you do not understand
the proper body positioning when trying
to do a yoga pose, you could pull a
muscle or otherwise injure yourself.
Most gyms and community centers offer
beginner yoga classes for a small fee in
a friendly environment.
For yoga, you will need some
equipment including:
● Yoga mat
● Yoga pants
● Supportive flexible top for
women
Swimming
Swimming and water aerobatics are
often called the perfect exercise. It is a
low impact aerobic exercise that is done
in a weightless environment.
The health benefits of swimming are
similar to walking but with the added
benefit of being 0 impact on the body
due to the weightlessness experienced in
water. This makes swimming and water
exercise perfect for older adults and
people with injuries or arthritis.
The downside of swimming is that it
does require one to know how to swim.
Water aerobics requires a swimming
pool. Many health clubs have indoor,
heated pools and offer swimming
classes and water aerobic classes.
The equipment required for
swimming are:
● Swim suit
● Goggles
● Swim cap