Keeping colds and flu away
Exercise strengthens our muscles including the heart, increases our resistance and helps us to maintain a healthy weight. There are times when we feel like not exercising but after a quick workout, we get that kind of feel-good boost.
Exercise boosts our immune system too, but aside from the above-mentioned points, regularly doing it limits body fat from accumulating over time, that could disrupt our immune system especially as we age.
Regular exercise activates our anti-bodies and white blood cells which are then primed to fight viruses and bacteria. It makes our blood circulate more efficiently so our immune system’s strike force get to their battle stations quickly.
Let’s not jump quickly on working out, especially if we had been inactive for a while, are over 50-years old or have some medical conditions. Prudence dictates that we consult with our doctors prior to doing our exercise and ask what type of activities are safe to do and to avoid.
According to our doctors’ wishes, we pick what activities we feel comfortable with, activities that raises our heart rate and increase our strength. Equipment can be as simple as a good pair of running or walking shoes which we already have and our own body weight for strength training (squats and pushups). For weights, we can have plastic bottles filled with water (which I use), the sardinas and beef loaf de latas (I do sometimes) that we always have.
Let’s start slow and allow our bodies to build up strength and stamina. There are plenty of activities to do no matter our age, size, shape, equipment at our disposal or abilities we have. The bottom line is to take our time to work our way up and when we’re ready to go to the next level, the health benefits rise. Any activity is better than none at all. Moderate activity is 30 minutes a day for 5 days but if we had just started, we could cut the time in half.
Prior to doing it, there’s a need to warmup because if we don’t, there’s the possibility of injury. Overdoing our exercise likely will get us injured. Our form is also important so we can do the moves correctly and get the most benefits.
If we set a goal which we cannot follow, strong chance we won’t be exercising anymore. If 30 minutes gets us exhausted, let’s cut the time in half and as our fitness improve, slowly add some minutes and days. Varying our activities and routes keeps us interested and breaks the monotony of the exercise. A change in scenery does wonders.
A stronger immune system is what we need in this abnormal time. Let’s do it for our own personal well-being, and of course, by observing the prescribed health protocols.
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