Physical Exercise: Need and Importance
Meaning
Physical exercise is the planned and repetitive bodily activity that is done to gain good health or to maintain physical and mental fitness.
Physical exercise refers to any physical activity or bodily movement that is undertaken in a planned manner with the aim:
to improve or recondition the entire body or part of the body,
to improve or maintain the health and fitness of the body,
to strengthen the body and to make the muscles stronger,
to lose weight or to prevent obesity,
to maintain or improve the functional ability of various organs,
to maintain youthfulness,
to delay the process of ageing,
to prevent cardiac diseases by improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system (heart and circulatory system,
to improve immunity system and prevent diseases,
to prevent depression, insomnia, and
to improve mental fitness.
Types
Physical exercises are generally classified into aerobics, anaerobic, and flexibility.
- Aerobic means requiring or using oxygen. Aerobic exercises are done to make the body consume more oxygen. This process helps improve the condition of the heart and the circulatory system. Example: swimming, cycling, etc.
- Anaerobic means not requiring or using oxygen. Anaerobic exercises are highly intensive exercises that are done for short duration. Example: weigh lifting. As against the aerobic exercises that depends upon the breathing air, the demand for oxygen far exceeds the supply in case of anaerobic exercises.
- Flexibility means the ability to bend easily without much difficulty. Flexibility exercises are done to improve muscular mobility and joint flexibility. Example: stretching,
Need and Importance
There is a need for physical exercise in every spheres of life. Physical Exercise is very important for proper health and fitness. Physical exercises are necessary for every citizen of the country.
The youths are choosing to eat junk foods. It spoils the health of the youth people. They look old before time. Their poor health is a social problem. People without good health cannot enjoy life. We cannot have a strong nation if the citizens have no good health.
Man is superior to animals because he has a developed mind. He controls the animals with his intellect. But we cannot have mental growth if our body is weak and sickly. The death of body means the death of the mind also. ‘A sound mind is in a sound body’ is a popular saying. So, physical exercises are very necessary for mental health. A sickly man cannot sit well. He cannot do his work properly.
India earned her freedom after great sacrifices. We have to protect her freedom. We have to make our defenses strong. The citizens of our country must be physically fit and healthy. Only then they can defend the country’s freedom. Pandit Nehru once said, ‘every child of India shall have to be a soldier of freedom’.
The economy of our country depends upon agriculture. The agricultural production of our country is low. If our workers are physically strong and healthy, then it will help our country to increase the agricultural output. If fact, physical exercise are useful for them. These exercises will keep them fit and healthy. Then our production on farms and in factories will go up.
Student life is considered incomplete without physical activities and exercises. Physical activities are as important as studies. It is for this reason that schools and colleges dedicate special classes for physical exercises. This help the students to stay fit, both physically and mentally.
Physical exercise is very important for office goers as well. There is very few opportunity for physical activity in offices. The modern age is the age of information technology and internet. People work for several hours sitting in front of the computer. This causes stress in the eyes and body of such people. The health of the modern-day office goes is deteriorating everyday. Such people should engage in some physical activity and exercise to regenerate and rejuvenate their mind and body. They can also choose to go for morning walk each day.
Physical exercises make us healthy. They make us good citizens. Life without good health is no life at all. If we spend an hour in taking physical exercises, we can work hard for the rest of the day. Thus, physical exercises are of great use to us. They should be made compulsory for students, teachers and office-goers.
