Why should you do sport?

It’s not easy to motivate yourself to take up sport. And yet sport and health go hand in hand, even if you have a stoma or suffer from continence problems.

It’s not always easy to motivate yourself to take up sport. We all know the excuses for putting it off until tomorrow: “oh, not tonight, I’m tired”, “I’ve gota errands to run”…

After reading this article, you’ll have no excuse not to take up a sporting activity.

In fact, regular exercise will give you a feeling of well-being, both physically and mentally. So don’t wait any longer and get your trainers on!

Sport and health go hand in hand

We all ask ourselves the question “Honestly, what’s the point of doing sport? Don’t worry, we’ve got the answer for you. Physical activity keeps you fit, but it’s not the only thing you need to do! Regular exercise can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

For some people with disabilities, sport is often one of the first vectors of functional rehabilitation, while for others it’s a tool for promoting independence.

To give you even more motivation, here are some other benefits of practising sport:

• • • Lower triglycerides
    • Increase your muscle mass and reduce your body fat;
    • Maintain your bones and joints, which are essential for all your sporting activities, especially for women whose bone mass decreases over the years;
    • Reduce the risk of cancer, because life is worth living;
    • Increase flexibility and coordination: you’ll have more freedom of movement;
    • Increase in strength of up to 40%, which is not insignificant;
    • Increase in speed of up to 20%.

So you’ve come to the conclusion that sport, in the right doses is good for your body… and good for you…

How does physical activity affect the heart and blood vessels?

When you exercise, your heart beats faster. Blood flows faster through the blood vessels, and as it does so, red blood cells rub against the walls of the blood vessels, releasing nitric oxide and making them more flexible. The same applies to the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle.

What’s more, physical activity encourages the development of new blood vessels: a network is formed that can replace failing vessels and, for example, reduce the risk of death in the event of a myocardial infarction. This is known as vascular collateralisation.

Finally, the heart itself adapts. During exercise, the contracting muscles crush the veins and send a lot of blood back to the heart. This causes the organ to expand. With repeated exercise, it becomes more flexible, and consequently beats less quickly. All the studies show that a slower-beating heart has a longer life expectancy.

Sport is good for your morale

Sporting activity releases endorphins that give you a feeling of well-being. So what are you waiting for, to dance to the lyrics of the Creole company? … or something else, depending on your tastes.

This will allow you to travel and get away from your everyday worries.

Sport is also great for your skin

If you want to maintain the elasticity of your skin, don’t wait any longer and do a few sessions of sport to firm up your skin. The more regularly you exercise, the greater the effect on the ageing process.

In itself, sport is good for you! But above all, it should be fun!

What type of physical activity is best for our health?

The first thing to remember is that physical activity or sport has a beneficial effect on the whole body, not just the heart. But for the heart, contrary to what was thought for a long time, endurance exercise alone is not enough. They need to be combined with muscle-strengthening exercises. Endurance exercise will help dilate the blood vessels; muscle strengthening, by increasing overall muscle mass, will encourage more blood to flow back to the heart.

After the age of 60, I also recommend flexibility and balance exercises. Activities such as cycling, Nordic walking or hiking on uneven terrain combine endurance and muscle strengthening. Swimming and running are good for endurance. To strengthen your muscles, simply climb up and down the stairs as often as possible. But whatever physical activity you do, the most important thing is to enjoy it. Otherwise, you won’t stick with it.

How do you find a way to motivate yourself?

The first thing to do is to clear a little space in your diary. As we all know, we never have a slot to give over to sport, but this is about your well-being. So let’s get started, block off a slot and get into your new sports kit.

For those of you who think you don’t have enough time to do sport, the minimum level of physical activity recommended is 30 minutes of brisk walking every day.

How often should I do it?

The minimum is thirty minutes of physical activity every day. During these thirty minutes, which can be broken down into three times ten minutes, you should be slightly out of breath but still be able to talk. This is what happens when you walk briskly or cycle. It’s the minimum amount of physical activity we should all be doing.

Ideally, we should also be physically active three times a week for thirty to forty-five minutes. These three weekly sessions are now an integral part of treatment for all chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and moderate depression.

“As for children, they should move for at least an hour every day – and between Children should be active for at least an hour a day – and between the ages of 2 and 5, for three hours! But very few of them do, and unfortunately the hours of sport they do on Wednesdays or at weekends don’t make up for this. We need to be active every day.

Do the benefits of physical activity last?

Unfortunately not! When you stop moving… in a few months, you’ve lost everything. If you were sporty when you were young, don’t think you’re protected if you stop being active. But the good news is that taking up physical activity or sport is beneficial whatever your age.