We hear often nowadays that being active promotes good health & well-being. But how many of people know what that means or how to adopt an active lifestyle?
Physical activity should not be viewed as an all-or-nothing venture; this mindset creates barriers and ultimately drives to inactivity. Physical activity is one of the most important components of successful health promotion and disease prevention for people. The benefits of physical activity are beyond what someone could think, it could be physical & mental or psychological.
Physical Benefits:
- Reduced risk of many conditions (CVD, diabetes, cancer, etc)
- Lower stress levels and blood pressure
- Improved sleep quality
- Improved mental health
- Improved muscular & cardiovascular fitness
- Improved bone density
- Weight management
Mental Benefits:
- Increased confidence and self-esteem
- Improved brain function
- Helps cope better with stress
- Reduced anxiety and depression symptoms
- Creates new social opportunities
Speaking with Cesar Sa about the importance of movement, physical activity and exercise he shared his opinion regarding the need to increase awareness about physical activity.
What do you think it should be done in a different way in order to make people understand the importance of being active?
First of all, the health care professionals are in the first line. Even by obligation, when a doctor prescribe exercise, the client will follow his directions. So, we should move people towards Physical Activity. Places to promote PA are needed, but always with the needed supervision of an exercise specialist, who will guide and consult the trainee through this process. We should explain that the things that we see on social media most of the times are not suitable to us, the trainee could perform the exercises wrong and in any case the programs that are promoted in social media are not tailor made. The effects of this behavior most of the times are injuries or pain.
What do you think about social media influencers?
If you do not know your body, the implementation of random exercise programs that are promoted from an influencer, for example, can have a negative impact on our health. Influencers or content creators on social media should be the first to inform that any kind of exercise shouldn’t be performed unsupervised.
Fitness influencers on social media, especially during COVID-19, strongly and frequently recommended physical activity to their followers. It should be clear that these individuals are not professional fitness trainers and most of the times the type or the intensity of the exercise that is proposed is incorrect and it could be harmful when implemented it without the presence of a professional.
“Give time to yourself, love your body and learn. Our body is our temple and we should behave in accordance to this. Unlock the plane definition that you may have about physical activity and the importance, take a small step towards a healthy lifestyle and let the procedure reveal the great benefits of being active”.