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Simple Exercise
Fitness Made Easy
By Charlene Torkelson
Fitness doesn't always feel easy – or convenient. There are all kinds of problems with fitness: not enough time, not enough energy and not enough space. Yet including simple exercise into your daily schedule can be easy if you know how to do it and what to do. Even better, simple exercise can help you feel healthier. Fitness made easy! How good does that sound?
A fitness routine should include three areas of exercise:
- Aerobic exercise that works the heart and lungs
- Strength that tones and builds muscle
- Stretching that increases flexibility
Being fit does not have to mean training for a marathon or joining an expensive gym or fitness center. It does not mean having sore muscles, setting aside hours of time or even needing a large space for bulky equipment. It can simply be 10 minutes of time two or three times a day of additional activity. The activity doesn't have to be and shouldn't be back-breaking, difficult movements that twist your body into pretzel shapes. It should be simple exercises done consistently that make you feel good.
Aerobic exercise is something that improves your health by working your internal vital organs, specifically the heart and lungs by moving your legs and arms. Complicated? Not really. One of the best aerobic exercises is walking. Walking not only exercises your heart and lungs but increases your stamina and helps to maintain or lose weight by burning calories. Most people are able to increase their aerobic exercise by just taking a walk during the day. Other ways to increase your aerobic exercise would be to climb stairs, swim or include another form of movement into your normal daily routine. This could be dancing, shopping, taking the dog out, riding a bicycle or even just stepping in place. Some find that parking their car farther from the store when they shop or strolling to the corner to mail a letter increases the amount of walking they do each day.


