Keep Fit
Consistently

Exercising has been shown to boost our immune system. A moderate intensity exercisie of less than 60 minutes’ duration has been shown to increase the blood circulation of certain white blood cells. This improves our immune defences and reduces our body’s inflammation in the longer term. All these benefits translate to a delay in the ageing processes, and more importantly, reduced susceptibility to infections.

Exercising is also good for preventing cardiovascular disease. Habitual exercise prevents the build-up of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels, and though the mechanisms are not fully understood, it is now believed to be mediated through an anti-inflammatory process.

Exercising also improves circulation in general. Firstly, exercising trains the body to pump blood quickly in a more efficient manner. Secondly, exercising can trigger the growth of new blood vessels to improve blood flow in areas which are lacking. This is a natural adaptive response similar to how muscles get stronger with more resistance exercises. All these are over and above the myriad benefits that physical exercise has for risk factors other than heart diseases and stroke, such as Diabetes, Hypertension (high blood pressure) and Hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol).

Looking at Diabetes in particular, exercising is routinely prescribed as a key pillar of Diabetes management. In Diabetics, the body cannot regulate its sugar levels either because it has become resistant to the effects of Insulin (a hormone we naturally produce that reduces sugar levels), or there is a relative lack of Insulin production. In advanced Diabetes, it is often a combination of both.

Most benefits of physical activity on the management and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes are mediated by how our body responds to Insulin in effect from exercising. In the short term, exercising improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin, especially in the muscles, and reduces blood sugar levels. This is seen during a mild-moderate intensity exercise and for 2-72hrs afterwards.

In the longer term, regular exercise results in sustained improvements in Insulin action, blood sugar control, as well as fat metabolism in muscles. Improved Insulin regulation can be seen for up to 120 hrs post-exercise and hence, the benefit will remain and reinforce itself when you do exercises regularly.

How do we go about exercising? It is always best to incorporate a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises into any exercise programme. What kind of exercises you can do depends on your existing fitness level, and/ or if you have any existing medical conditions that may worsened with certain exercises.

For aerobic exercises, given that there are no restrictions on outdoor exercise and as long as safe distancing principles are observed, we should take the opportunity to go for brisk walks or jogs wherever possible.

Stand up, march on the spot with knees raised to the level of your hip for 10 seconds.

Do hip rotations in both directions for 10 seconds.

Raise both arms up at your sides with straight elbows, and do 5 forward and 5 backward circular movements with your arms.

Do slow head rotational movements clockwise x 3 and anticlockwise x 3.