How can  people  be physically and mentally fit?

What is physical and mental fitness especially for leading a happy life?

What Do We Mean By Physical Fitness?

How can people be physically and mentally fit? Physical fitness is the ability to perform muscular work satisfactorily, Physical Fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities.

Physical fitness is the state of being physically healthy. The person must be fit to perform the concerned sport or occupation. Physical fitness can be achieved through correct nutrition, regular exercises, and proper rest or sleep. 

The Components of physical fitness are:

 

Muscular Strength: Muscular strength has many definitions. Most commonly it is defined as the ability of a muscle to lift the weight. It may also be defined as the amount of force your muscles can exert on an object during anaerobic activities that are in absence of oxygen gas. In the scientific form, muscular strength is the ability of cells to supply the muscle fiber with muscle energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for muscle contractions. There are three classes of muscular strength:

Maximum Strength: It is defined as the greatest force a person or the muscle can apply in a single maximum contraction.

Elastic Strength: It is defined as the capability to overcome resistance with a fast contraction.

Strength Endurance: It is defined as the ability to exert force many times.

Without muscular strength, the body will become weak. The person may not be able to perform his daily routines in the absence of muscular strength. Muscular strength can be achieved by lifting heavy weights.

 

In simple language, muscular endurance is the ability to perform exercises in a repeated fashion without getting tired. However, muscular strength deals with activities which cause short duration muscle contractions while muscular endurance includes the activities which cause muscle contraction in a sustained manner. The muscles are not used for a few seconds but for a few minutes. Muscular endurance is important for the cardiovascular system. The anaerobic exercises which last more than fifteen seconds and less than ninety seconds develop and increases muscular endurance. Muscular endurance can be achieved by working with light weights in sets of lower and high repetitionss.

Cardiovascular endurance

Cardiovascular exercises are the exercises which are of aerobic in nature and last for more than ninety seconds. Scientifically cardiovascular activities are those activities which determine the efficiency of the heart, blood vessels and the lungs and their ability to deliver the blood which is rich in oxygen to the muscles in use at that time. Exercises like jogging, running, swimming, cycling etc. cardiovascular endurance is important because good cardiovascular endurance ensures a healthy heart and healthy lungs. It can be achieved by doing aerobic exercises regularly.

Flexibility

 It is the range of motion which is possible for all sets of muscles. It is a very important component of physical fitness but it is generally overlooked. Without flexibility, the muscle would become stiff and will not be able to perform a proper movement. Flexibility can easily be checked by leaning in front and trying to touch your toes not bending your knees. Those who don’t have flexible muscles will not be able to do it and those with flexible muscles will be able to do it. Flexibility is very important because it reduces the risk of acute and chronic muscle injuries. To achieve flexibility, regular exercises must be performed.

Body Fat Composition

Body composition is the ratio of the number of tissues which are fat-free to the number of tissue which is composed of fat. To be classified as fit, men should have a body mass of seventeen per cent and women must have a body mass of 24 per cent.

Advantages of Physical Fitness

Earlier, people used to think that physical activities are meant only for those who are a part of armed forces or those who want to engage in jobs that require physical workout. But now the times have changed and the thinking of the people also. Today both young and old people want to be physically fit. Physical exercises protect the body from many kinds of ailments. It makes a person healthier. Physical fitness leads to a healthy heart. It reduces the risk of heart attacks and various diseases related to the heart.

A physically fit person has an improved blood circulation. The tissues are delivered with a proper amount of oxygen and the necessary nutrients. The overall strength of the body also increases if the person is physically fit. The joints and muscles become flexible which reduces the risk of muscular injuries. Also, when a person tries to be physically fit, it reduces his body fat. The body takes a healthy shape. If one wants to achieve a disease-free life, he must understand the need for physical exercise to stay physically fit.

The benefits of regular physical activities

• It reduces the risk of heart attacks and other heart diseases.
• It is an effective way of managing weight.
• Cholesterol levels are reduced.
• It lowers the risk of diabetes and cancer.
•  Relieves stress and improves sleep.
• It makes a person feel better in terms of mood and energy.

If we take care of our physical fitness in the adulthood, it will be beneficial for us in the long run. When we reach our old age, we will have to face less number of diseases. At that time, we will have less or maybe no joint pains, no chronic diseases, cholesterol, diabetes etc. Physical fitness also boosts self-esteem. If a person is physically fit then she will not have to feel shy about his body. She can be very confident when she meets a group of people that her body is in a good shape.

Maintaining a good level of physical fitness is something that we should all aspire to do. But it can be difficult to determine what fitness entails.

Fast facts on fitness:

Maintaining physical fitness can help prevent some diseases.

With exercise, body composition can change without changing weight.

Athletes’ hearts show different changes depending on their chosen sport.

Muscle strength increases by fiber hypertrophy and neural changes.

Stretching to increase flexibility can ease several medical complaints.

Being physically fit depends on how well a person fulfills each of the components of being healthy.

When it comes to fitness, these components include

Cardio respiratory fitness

Muscular strength

Muscular endurance

body composition

flexibility.

What Is Mental Fitness?

It simply means keeping your brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. Mental fitness is a kind of robustness you give yourself, which helps you deal with small and big hurdles.

Mental fitness means to have a healthy mind. It can also think of as the absence of any mental disorder. It includes the person’s ability to enjoy his life without any worries, and remain tension free. The components of mental fitness include:

• Coordination in Body: The body parts should be in a proper coordination with the autonomous nervous system. An emotional change must not affect the body of the person. For example, a person who is not so mentally fit will have increased heartbeat when she is too nervous, or a low blood pressure when she is extremely sad. But it will not be so in the case of the person who is mentally fit. A mentally fit person should be capable of handling all kinds of emotions.

• Nonverbal Communication: A mentally fit person must be able to understand the non-verbal communication communicated by the person she is talking to. It includes hand gestures, voice tones, and facial expression and also postures. She must be able to understand other people’s emotions and feelings to be mentally fit.

• Emotional Balance: The person must be emotionally fit. She should know how to handle different emotions. She should be strong enough emotionally. The person should not get carried away by emotions.

• Response Flexibility: A mentally fit person should be able to think before reacting. Instead of giving a quick aggressive response, the person must first examine the situation.

• Fear Modulation: It refers to reduce fear. The people who are anxious and full of stress tend to get afraid in all situations. The converse is also true. If a person is full of fear, she will become more anxious and stressful in any situations whereas others might just get nervous.

• Insight: A mentally fit person must not regret her past but should happily accept it. She should concentrate on her present rather than worry about the future.

• Empathy: it is the ability to think about other people by putting yourself in their place. This gives the insight of other people. It lets you understand other people’s feelings.

• Morality: Morality means to meet your own requirements without ignoring other’s requirement and to fulfill your requirements in such a way that it does not affect other people’s share.

• Intuition: Intuition is the activity of the right brain. It may be addressed as the sixth sense. It is considered a rough prediction made by the right brain.

Advantages of Mental Fitness

In the race of attaining physical fitness, people usually forget that mental fitness is equally important. Fitness does not include only physical fitness, mental fitness is also an essential part of it. To handle mental stress, to stay in peace, and face new challenges of life mental fitness is very important. Mental fitness is deeply connected with physical fitness. A mentally fit body will provide the right amount of nutrients and oxygen to the brain which is essential for physical fitness. Mentally fit people will become more confident and optimistic.

If a person does not pay much attention to mental fitness she may become dyslexic, or she may develop poor memory which may further lead to many serious diseases. Mental fitness can be enhanced by playing mind games like chess, crosswords etc. meditating is very important for a healthy mind. One should intake foods which provide healthy fat to the brain like walnuts, fish, olives etc.  For mental fitness it is very important to say a big no to drugs and alcohol. A good sleep is also essential for mental fitness.

It is your ability to cope with and meet the psychological demands of life, without undue fatigue or damage to your mind or body.

Basically, it is your ability to cope with and meet the psychological demands of life, without undue fatigue or damage to your mind or body?

In Conclusion, Mental fitness has a healthy and robust mind to permit you to handle the challenges and opportunities that life puts before you, while not becoming too drained.

When talking about fitness, mental and physical fitness both are concerned and both are equally important. One should not ignore one kind while working on the other. Both the kinds of fitness are related to each other. If a person has a fit body without a fit mind it will be of no use because ultimately the person will be under stress, fear and anxiety. On the other hand, if a person is mentally fit but not physically then also it is of no use because the person will feel sick all the time. So, both of them are equally important.

Being mentally match helps you:

Improve concentration and focus

Handle stress additional effectively

Forgoing grudges towards past mistakes.

Why people are unable to maintain good physical and mental fitness?

 

The world around us is constantly changing. Our personalities and even our looks change throughout our lives. And so do our diet and bodies. Staying healthy is a hard thing to do. Maybe we set a goal and after reaching it, we just move on. Or we just don’t have the energy to keep up with a healthy diet.

The primary goal of keeping fit, however, is to keep healthy, making it even more important to get and stay fit. No matter what your problem may be though, here are 5 tips to help you stay fit!

1. They do it alone

Exercising alone may be less awkward, but it is a lot harder to stay motivated. You will have to push yourself to work out and eat healthy. When you have a friend with you, they can help you stay on track when it gets harder. A recent study showed that working out with a partner can motivate you to keep going longer. And it is a lot more fun too!

2. They don’t stay hydrated

Water is beneficial in so many ways. It keeps your skin clear, it helps speed up your metabolism, helps you stay focused, and much more. It is recommended that an average adult drink roughly two liters of water per day. Not only is it refreshing, but it will help your body to stay fit!

3. They eat too much junk

It is commonly known that fast food is very unhealthy. It contains a lot of carbohydrates and sodium. So logically, if you eat it too much, it will be noticeable on your body (in weight gain) and in your daily health. In the long term, a bad diet can cause heart disease and obesity, among other life-altering ailments.

4. They don’t eat balanced meals

To keep your body nurtured, it is important to make sure that you eat the right amount of nutrients. The easiest way to make sure you eat balanced is by using the Healthy Eating Plate. You can also do well to keep track of your meals and see if you reach your daily macronutrients.

5. They don’t build up their exercising

Some people think that they can work toward a goal and then just give up or stay at the same pace. Your body doesn’t work that way. You have to keep up the work that you started to put in. It is an ongoing process to keep your body in shape.

Also, if you do the same workout every time, your body will get used to it. You have to keep building it up, challenging yourself, and sometimes mix it up with other, different exercises. So that is all about the reasons people cannot maintain their physical fitness.

Why People Can Not Maintain Mental Fitness

Childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect

Social isolation or loneliness

Experiencing discrimination and stigma

Social disadvantage, poverty, or debt

Bereavement (losing someone close to you)

Severe or long-term stress

Having a long-term physical health condition

Unemployment or losing your job

Homelessness or poor housing

Being a long-term care giver for someone

Drug and alcohol misuse

Domestic violence, bullying, or other abuse as an adult

Significant trauma as an adult, such as military combat, being involved in a serious incident in which you feared for your life, or being the victim of a violent crime

Physical causes – for example, a head injury or a neurological condition such as epilepsy can have an impact on your behaviour and mood. (It’s important to rule out potential physical causes before seeking further treatment for a mental health problem).

In Conclusion, this has affected a lot of people all over the globe.

Quote -“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit.

How can people be physically and mentally fit?

Congratulations on taking a forward step to get in shape and feel great. Many people are guilty of wishing they could get a sculpted body from eating junk food and watching TV all day. But that is just not going to happen. Even though getting in shape sounds like a long, time-wasting process, the effort put towards being in shape has many positive effects. If you want to start your journey to having a better body to feel great, here are some tips:

5 Simple Tips for Physical Fitness

1. Exercise Daily

Exercise daily for at least an hour. You do not have to kill yourself from running, jogging, etc., but you should have some sort of moderate physical activity in your everyday life. If you’re looking to shed a few pounds fast, do a higher-level intensity workout. For example, go on a walk at a brisk pace for an hour. Or, you can jog and set certain intervals to sprint during that hour. Make sure you’re not in severe pain during your workout. Just a warning, your muscles will ache after a high-intensity workout.

2. Eat the Right Foods and Portion Each Meal

No matter how bad your stomach is telling you to go for candy over healthy food, try to stay away from sweets. Sugar from candy will not help you get in shape. Even if it’s just a single candy bar, one will eventually lead to another. Fruits and vegetables are the best things to eat when getting into shape. Apples, for example, do a good job at making the stomach feel full for up to 3 to 4 hours.

3. Keep Track of Calories and Food Intake Per Day

Keeping track of how many calories you eat in a day will help plan out your physical exercise. Ever wonder why bodybuilders’ body masses are so big? That’s because they plan out their meals and take in more (healthy) calories than the average person.

4. Be Sure to Get Sleep

Even though most of us have eight-hour jobs during the day or night, it is crucial to get enough sleep to recharge the body’s batteries. Six to eight hours of sleep will keep the body going throughout the day, but if you happen to feel tired at any point after coming home from work, by all means, take a small nap before exercising. You should only nap for about a half-hour

5. Stay Motivated

An important key to being in shape is to set goals and keep a positive mindset. If you stay positive, you will be able to push yourself to get that fit body you’ve always wanted.

How To Be Mentally Fit

 

Exercise for 30 minutes every day – Physical exercise delivers oxygen to the brain. This can help to improve your memory, reasoning abilities, and reaction times.

Read often and read wide– Keeping an active interest in the world around you will help to exercise your brain and improve your mental fitness.

Boost your levels of vitamin B– Eat plenty of wholegrain cereals, leafy greens, and dairy foods. Vitamin B is essential to brain health.

Challenge your intellect and Memory– Stretch yourself mentally by learning a new language, doing the cryptic crossword, or playing chess. This is important for brain health and good for your social life.

Take time to relax – Excess stress hormones like cortical can be harmful to the brain. Schedule regular periods of relaxation into your week.

Quote- “Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

In conclusion, with what you have read here it will be of great advantage to utilizing it, going through it will not only help but make use of it.

The Importance of Mental Fitness and how can people be physically and mentally fit?

Keeping your brain in shape

Physical fitness gets plenty of attention, and for good reason. A healthy body can prevent conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and help you maintain independence as you age.

Mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness, and shouldn’t be neglected. Including mental dexterity exercises into your daily routine can help you reap the benefits of a sharper mind and a healthier body for years to come.

Mental fitness means keeping your brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. It doesn’t mean training for “brain Olympics” or acing an IQ test. It refers to a series of exercises that help you:

• slow down
• decompress
• boost a flagging memory

Mind-body connection

How can people be physically and mentally fit? It’s no surprise that the more you help your body, the more you help your mind. Physical activity increases the flow of oxygen to your brain. It also increases the amount of endorphins, the “feel-good” chemicals, in your brain. For this reason, it’s not surprising that people who are in good physical shape also tend to enjoy a higher level of mental agility.

Engaging in a vigorous physical workout can help you battle depression and gain a more positive outlook on life. It’s also a great way to beat stress, which can harm you mentally and physically.

Mental exercise is just as beneficial. According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, certain memory training exercises can increase “fluid intelligence,” the ability to reason and solve new problems.

 Exercise is good for the brain and the body and so is meditation. Meditation, in conjunction with other methods, is an alternative way to treat depression. Calming the mind allows you to problem solve in a more relaxed way.

Benefits of mental fitness

When you go to bed after a long day, your body begins to relax. But the mind doesn’t always follow.

Visualization can help. You can often achieve a sense of peacefulness through imagery, the process of picturing a tranquil scene or location. This practice can reduce tension in both your body and your mind by challenging neurons in the less-dominant area of your brain.

The less-dominant side of your brain is the area that controls feelings of self-confidence and optimism. When you think about something other than your daily worries, you increase activity in the neural structures of that area of your brain.

Ultimately, visualization can boost your emotional well-being and calm you down mentally.

Become mentally fit

Keeping your mind mentally fit isn’t as difficult as getting ready for a marathon, but it’s a good analogy. You can add mental exercises to the many activities you already perform, such as:

• reading
• daydreaming
• finding humor in life

You might try the following approaches to increase your mental fitness.

Stop multitasking

You may think that multitasking enables you to get more things done at once, but it actually creates more problems than it solves. Focusing on one task at a time will improve your concentration and help you to be more productive.

Be positive with yourself

Positive affirmation is one avenue to increased mental proficiency.

Affirmation, or talking to you in a positive way, involves strengthening neural pathways to bring your self-confidence, well-being, and satisfaction to a higher level.

To start, make a list of your good qualities. Remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Set goals for what you want to improve and start small to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

Try something different

New experiences can set you on the path to mental fitness. You can fit new approaches into your daily life in a variety of ways:

• Try new foods.
• Try new ways to accomplish routine tasks.
• Travel to new places.
• Take a new way to work or the grocery store.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, research shows that keeping your brain active increases its vitality. Doing new things in new ways appears to help retain brain cells and connections. It may even produce new brain cells. In essence, breaking out of your routine can help keep your brain stay healthy.

Play games

Games that test reasoning and other portions of your brain are fun ways to keep your mind sharp. Consider these games:

• crossword puzzles
• board games
• Sudoku

Games are a great way to build up your brain muscle. Even fast-paced action video games may boost your ability to learn new tasks, according to a study in the journal Current Biology Trusted Source. The study found tentative evidence that video games may increase your attention span, reaction time, and task-switching ability. In addition to video games, try any game that employs the use of:

• logic
• reasoning
• trivia

Read more

Reading is great for your brain. Even as you’re reading this sentence, your brain is processing each word, recalling the meaning instantly.

Beyond the mechanics, reading helps you visualize the subject matter on the pages before you, and imagine what voices sound like in the written dialogue. This can also be a great relaxation technique.

Reading is a great activity because it can stoke the imagination and ignite so many different parts of the brain. There are endless genres and types of reading material. It’s unlikely that you’ll run out of interesting things to read.

Take the time

Mental fitness doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. Spending a few minutes on it every day can help you feel better and think more clearly. Remember that relaxation and visualization are just as important in a mental workout as the more energetic activities, such as memory exercises or game-playing. Try adding one or two activities at a time to your mental workout, such as:

• relaxing
• visualizing
• affirming
• memory exercises
• game-playing

The takeaway-How can people be physically and mentally fit?

Mental fitness is important to maintaining your brain and your body health, especially as you age. There are many types of mental dexterity exercises, and you don’t need to go to the gym to do them. They include active ones, such as learning a new song or playing a game, as well as restful ones, such as relaxation and visualization exercises. Schedule a mental fitness break into your calendar right next to your workout schedule. Your mind and your health are worth it.

How Physical And Mental Fitness Leads To A Happy Life.

It’s not just about getting into a better mood. It’s about making life more joyful! When it’s easier to move, it’s easier to do everything you want to do! Check out the list below to see if something resonates with you.

1. Better Mood

Within five minutes of cardiovascular exercise, you can feel happier! Once you get moving, your brain releases serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine as well as possibly others. These make you feel good! So, even if you don’t feel like doing anything, just going for a walk can make you happier!

2. Decreased Stress

According to one online poll, only 14 percent of people use regular exercise to cope with stress. It only takes five minutes to start feeling better and it doesn’t have to be intense exercise. In fact, low- to moderate-intensity exercise is better than high-intensity for stress reduction. I recently read an article in Runner’s World regarding how exercise affects post traumatic stress disorder. Walking, running and yoga tend to be the favorites choices.

3. More Mental Resilience

On the tougher side of the coin, when you exercise in a way that pushes you physically, you get mentally tougher. When you are mentally tougher, you can handle more stress. For some people, the feeling of developing mental resilience is addictive. You reach your goal and start wondering what else you can do! People train to take themselves further and further in sports like running, martial arts, cycling, etc. This mental toughness helps in other aspects of your life. You can handle more of anything.

4. Life Feels Easier

If you could get through your day in a physically easier way, wouldn’t that be nice? If lugging groceries and children, or moving items around the house were easier, wouldn’t you be happier? Exercise can do that for you! Increase strength; improve your cardiovascular fitness and life just feels easier! Let’s not even talk about shoveling snow.

5. Improved Immune System

There are several speculations on how exercise improves your immunity. Exercise can help by flushing out bacteria from the lungs and may also flush out carcinogens by increasing the activity of your lymphatic system, which drains waste from your body.

When your blood is pumping, you are also increasing the rate at which antibodies and white blood cells run through the body. They detect and attack illness. Why wouldn’t you want more of that happening inside you?

 Exercise causes the release of stress-related hormones to slowed down. Stress is not just emotional – it is very physical. By decreasing those hormones, you improve your health.

There can be too much of a good thing though. Mild to moderate exercise improves your immune system. Heavy, intense exercise lowers immunity and increases those stress hormones. If you are battling a cold, doing light exercise like a walk or jog for a short amount of time is a good idea. If you are training for a marathon and just finished a long run or a speed work session then you should be careful not to hang out with sick people for several hours afterwards. Use that time to give yourself proper post-workout nutrition and rest.

6. Participate in Life

Happiness can come when you feel healthy enough to do anything you want to do. When you can engage in play with kids and grandkids, join friends for various sporting activities, and do more things with your significant other, life is amazing. When you don’t even have to think about whether you are fit enough for basic activities that is a great place to be. Life is short; make it fun!

7. Healthy Aging

Exercise helps with maintaining a healthy weight. As you age, this becomes harder and harder to do without exercise. Exercise also helps maintain mobility in your spine. When your spine is happy, your body can move properly. Having muscles that are able to react to your environment (think snow, ice, hills, heat, cold, etc.) makes life a whole lot easier as we age.

8. Better Sleep

When you sleep, your body temperature drops and this drop in temperature helps you sleep. If you exercise for 20-30 minutes, five to six hours before bedtime, your body temp will then drop lower than it would if you did not exercise. This makes for better sleep!

9. Increased Energy

I must say, from personal experience, my most productive time comes AFTER I exercise. I get the most work done and feel good doing it. Treat your body like a savings account; pay yourself first! If you are new to exercise you might feel a little more tired for a week or so but then you start feeling better, and better! Stick with it!

10. Reduced Depression and Anxiety

“There’s good epidemiological data to suggest that active people are less depressed than inactive people. And people who were active and stopped tend to be more depressed than those who maintain or initiate an exercise program,” says James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University. “Exercise seems not only important for treating depression, but also in preventing relapse.”

So there you have it! No more excuses. Go for a five minute walk, take up yoga, try running, and be happy!