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Exercising The Lower Body

Exercise the lower body when you exercise your upper body to maintain a pleasing and uniform appearance.

Staying Fit will walk you through some simple and effective lower-body exercises that you can perform without the need of expensive equipment.

Exercise And The Immune System

Exercise’s Effects On The Immune System
The immune system is our chief defense against disease, bacteria and viruses that could weaken and even kill us. From the time we are born we are exposed to a multitude of invasive bacteria everyday. Were it not for our immune system, we would not be capable of living in our world. Our body develops new defenses to each of these bacteria, evolving and changing as it becomes necessary.

What You May Not Know
The immune system degenerates over time through disease and age and habits such as smoking increase the depletion of our immunities leaving us more susceptible to disease and weakening physical health. Recent studies have begun to prove that regular, consistent exercise may be an efficient and beneficial way to help not only improve our physical condition but also strengthen our immune systems.

How?
Early research has revealed that recreational exercisers who started running claimed to have fewer colds. How does this occur? Moderate exercise has been linked to a temporary boost in the production of macrophages (cells that attack bacteria) and as a result it’s believed that consistent exercise may cause significantly increased immunity levels over longer periods of time. Physiological changes have been shown to occur in the immune system of those who practice higher levels of physical activity. During exercise the immune cells move through the body more quickly and can better act to kill viruses and bacteria. Normally after we’ve stopped exercising the immune system returns to its regular levels, but when exercise is done more consistently the levels can be raised for longer periods of time. When exercise is repeated on a near-daily basis it brings about a cumulative effect, causing the body to have a enduring immune response.

Too Much Exercise Can Weaken Our Immune System
More than a 90 minute high-intensity endurance workout can leave you open to viruses for the following 72 hours. Research has shown that hormones that temporarily lower immunity levels are releases during intense physical activity. These hormones, cortisol and adrenaline (the stress hormones) increase cholesterol and blood pressure while suppressing the immune system. Athletes who compete in marathons are more susceptible to these sorts of effects and therefore catch viruses more easily. If you train for high intensity events like this, it’s best that you include rest and recovery days so that your body’s immune levels can be recouped. If you’re experiencing higher resting heart rates, irritability, slower recovery heart rates, general heaviness or exhaustion you might have to reduce the strain your body endures in workouts as well.

How Long Does My Body Take to Recover?
If you’ve already gotten sick be sure and reduce your exercise routines as well. Your body is already under a great deal of stress and fighting infection, if you further push yourself by overdoing it on exercise you could make recovery more difficult and even worsen the infection. The human immune system could take more than two days to return to optimum levels after being overtaxed. For more serious forms of infections involving fever, exhaustion, swollen lymph glands and muscle soreness it’s best to wait as much as 2-4 weeks before your return to regular high intensity exercise routines. This puts athletes higher on the list of people who could be affected most negatively by over-exercise due to the extensive amounts of training and team matches involved with being this active.

As is always true with changes in physical activity levels its best that you consult a doctor before starting a new regimen. Eating a healthy diet that utilizes every food group will help benefit your ability to exercise as well as aid your immune system in recovering and maintaining optimum levels of efficiency.