Physical Exercise and Your Health

Physical exercise is a highly important aspect of maintaining our health and vitality. Aerobic exercise is excellent for our circulation, our breathing and our physical stamina. 

Much of what is stated here should be common sense, however it is surprising just how any people get aches and pains from not following common sense!

The big question is ...  what activity and how much should I do, when living in Kent?

Obviously a website cannot answer these questions for a specific person but there are some rules which could be considered. 

What is the current level of my health and vitality? 

This clearly is a question which you need to answer to yourself very honestly. 

Some sports and exercises are more vigourous and demanding on your body muscles, joints and ligaments than others. If you are already fit and healthy then you have a wider range of activities which you can undertake. If however you are in a more mature age group and/or you haven't done much physical activity for a while (few months/years) then take up a more gentle form of activity to begin with. You can still have your goal to move on to something more vigorous later once your body has adjusted to exercising again.

It is a good idea to have more than one physical activity as each works different groups of muscles. 

How frequently / how often?

There are many possibilities for active exercise in Kent.

Again the response has to be as above. Don't go from having done no exercise to doing it immediately 5-7 x per week. This isn't sensible even if the new activity is highly enjoyable. Start 1-2/ 2-4 x per week (depending on your age and the activity) then gradually build up your sessions. 

Good starting exercises if you are not fit / have not exercised for a long time:

Walking, cycling (casual not club racing) and swimming - these are low impact exercises and do not stress the spine nor body joints. 

If you decide to attend a gym, make sure you get regular advice from the gym instructor with your workout regime. 

An osteopathic check up can evaluate if your body is ready for your chosen sport or physical activity. Osteopathic treatment can strenghten your system to increase your ability within that sport.