Exercise on a regular basis can greatly improve your overall health and fitness and can reduce stress. Studies have shown that frequent exercise lowers the risk of heart disease, strokes, high blood press, obesity and non-insulin dependant diabetes.

Experts recommend that you take part in 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least 3 times each week, as well as some form of muscle training and stretching, twice each week. However, if you are unable to do this level of exercise, you can still gain significant health benefits by doing some form of physical activity for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

If you haven't exercised for some length of time it is wise to start with gentle activities, such as walking or biking at a steady pace; something that you feel comfortable with. Once you progress you will start to notice the benefits and should be able to take the intensity of the training to the next level.

Benefits of Exercise

• Burns calories
• Increases weight loss
• Reduces the risk of heart disease
• Can increase your lung capacity
• Helps reduce your blood pressure
• Helps prevent diabetes and some cancers
• Burns body fat for a healthier heart
• Increases metabolism
• Increases energy levels
• Improves cholesterol levels
• Improves digestion
• Strengthens the cardiovascular system
• Strengthens the immune system
• Helps reduce stress levels
• Helps reduce depression
• Promotes a feeling of well being
• Increases blood flow and makes you feel more energetic

Specific Health Benefits of Exercise

Heart Disease & Strokes

Regular exercise can strengthen your heart and lower blood pressure; this is proven to help prevent heart disease and strokes, one of the biggest causes of death in the UK. Exercise increases good cholesterol (HDL) and decreases bad cholesterol (LDL). This improves the blood flow and increases the working capacity of your heart.

High Blood Pressure

Regular exercise can help reduce blood pressure, as well as helping to reduce body fat which is linked to high blood pressure.

Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes

Regular physical activity can help prevent and control non-insulin dependant diabetes by reducing your levels of body fat.

Obesity

Regular amounts of exercise and resistance training helps preserve and increase muscle mass. This improves your body's rate at which it burns calories, therefore helping to reduce body fat. When exercise is combined with a healthy diet, you can control your weight and prevent obesity; a major factor of many deaths and illnesses.

Back Pain

Regular exercise and strength training helps improve your muscle flexibility and endurance, this can help prevent back pain.

Stress & Depression

Regular exercise can help reduce stress, improve your mood and promote self-confidence. It is also thought that exercise is very likely to help prevent or reduce depression.

Building a Strong & Healthy Body

Both men and women alike crave for a strong, lean and athletic physique, a body that is healthy, attractive and vital. In order to obtain such a physique it is necessary to train in the correct way, your training regime should consist of four major categories:

1. Cardiovascular exercise
2. Resistance training
3. Nutrition and diet
4. Positive mindset and motivation

1. Cardiovascular Exercise

When it comes to reducing body fat cardiovascular exercise is a critical part of your regime, however there four principles which we must follow if we are to be successful. These can be summed up as FITT.

F - Frequency
I - Intensity
T - Time
T - Type

Cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that utilizes oxygen via the heart and lungs, in other words any exercise that gets our heart rate up and increases our breathing.

Frequency - How many times we need to exercise in order to lose body fat. 3 times per week is a good starting point for a beginner, but 4-5 times is definitely recommended.

Intensity - Refers to how hard we workout. Many of our cardiovascular machines include heart rate monitors which measure how many times the heart beats per minute. This is very important as working at an intensity that is too low will not produce the desired results and an intensity that is too high will ensure you burn off glycogen stores rather than body fat and may result in injury due to the excessive loads placed upon the body.

Time - It is recommended by experts that you exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes in order to start burning body fat. All our cardio exercise machines include consoles that measure the time you have been exercising.

Type - The type of exercise we use is known as the 'mode' of exercise, it is important to choose an exercise mode that allows you to exercise at a moderate intensity ideally for twenty minutes or more. Such exercises include walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, stepping and boxing to name but a few.

Our extensive range of cardiovascular equipment takes the guesswork out of your training. Machines with features such as heart rate control ensure you are working at the recommended intensity for your age and fitness level, for the right amount of time. All you need to do is make sure you jump (carefully) on your machine at least 3 times a week!

2. Resistance Training

Resistance training is another integral part of your exercise routine. Studies have shown that lean muscle tissue burns significantly more calories throughout the day than fat does, this means using weights or resistance training to create muscle makes us more efficient at burning calories, thus making it more difficult to put on body fat!

Resistance training also helps us shape and sculpt our muscles in any way we desire. As a general rule of thumb lifting heavier weights for low repetitions and sets will result in increased muscle size, whilst doing low lighter weights for a high number of repetitions will result in the muscle becoming more defined. We offer a very comprehensive range of resistance training equipment that includes the versatility of free weights and safety of weight benches and multi-gyms.

3. Nutrition & Diet

It is important to eat a healthy and balanced diet as part of any training regime. Without a healthy diet you will not see the results you are looking for. For weight loss it is important to control the calories you consume and make sure you are creating a calorie deficit each day. A balanced diet requires you to eat foods each day that are rich in the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that you need to maintain a strong, healthy body. Eating foods that are full of basic nutrients gives us the energy we need to live our daily lives as well as exercise. These nutrients also help our body function properly to rebuild itself.

Please view our guides on nutrition and weight loss for more useful and detailed information to help you to eat well as part of a healthy and positive lifestyle.

4. Positive Mindset & Motivation

Motivation is one of the key secrets to creating a lean healthy body, this is because most people can do the exercises we have discussed and eat healthy, wholesome foods but unless you are motivated it is unlikely that you will continue long enough to see and feel the results you desire.

It is important to start by setting a goal. What exactly do you want to achieve? "I want to lose weight" is far too vague. If you lose just 1 lb that means you have lost weight and therefore achieved your goal, right?

You need to be as specific as possible - 'I want to lose 20 lbs' Is a far better goal. You must also put a time limit on your goal. If you don't put a time limit on your goal there is no urgency to start, but if you say 'I want to lose 20ibs in 12 weeks' you can break your goals into smaller manageable targets.

You must focus on your daily target and visualize yourself as you want to be - program your mind for success. By combining cardio vascular exercise, resistance training and a good diet with a positive mindset you will start to see, and feel the rewards.