Basic HTML Version
THE TOP
EXERCISES
YOU CAN
DO IN VERY
LITTLE TIME
Most of
us are just
not getting
enough
exercise. We
chalk it down
to being busy,
spending the
entire day in
meetings or
in the office
working,
and even
the climate
of Dubai.
Yet HEALTH
meets with
some fitness
experts who
demonstrate
that staying
in shape and
partaking
in physical
exercise does
not have to
necessarily
mean
expensive
gym
memberships
or long hours
with a trainer.
In fact,
staying active
can actually
be done in
the office or
home in much
less time than
you think...
Virginia Powell, a primary
school teacher from Sharjah
says she has absolutely no time
to exercise due to her busy day
and by the time the weekend
rolls around, she just wants to
relax and enjoy the two days
with her husband and kids. “I
have been advised by the doctor
that I need to lose about five
kilos but just have no time to
pack in any form of exercise
during my busy day. I am wake
up at 4:30 am to get lunchboxes
and breakfast prepared and
then by 6:15 am, the school
transport comes to collect me;
and we only arrive back in the
evening. After that I sit with
my kids and help them with
homework and studies and
then later on we have dinner.
How can I find the time to fit
in exercise in such a busy and
hectic day?” she asks.
Sounds familiar and probably
most of us can claim a day
as busy as Virginia’s, if not
even more. In fact, the
most often quoted excuse
for not exercising is indeed
lack of time. However the
stark reality is that most
of us are not partaking in
regular exercise as part of a
healthy and balanced lifestyle
irrespective of the daunting
fact that the rates for diabetes,
obesity and hypertension
are surging globally. While
there is ample evidence
of the benefits of exercise,
statistics reveal that two-
thirds of American adults
are not physically active on
a regular basis and a quarter
get virtually no exercise at all.
And this is bad news since our
sedentary lifestyle is creating
a ballooning health risk to our
population. The unfortunate
reality is that today for many
of us, exercise is just not given
a high priority in people’s
schedules. However, a recent
survey by the American
Council on Exercise
found another surprising
result. Nineteen percent of
respondents claimed that they
were just too out of shape
to work out. And if that is
not bad enough, the World
Health Organisation (WHO)
estimates that physical
inactivity causes 1.9 million
deaths a year worldwide,
including 10 to 16 percent
of breast cancer, colon cases
and diabetes cases and about
22 percent of coronary heart
disease cases.
30
Jan/Feb 2014