MY SCHOOL by Dr .Nilesh Gopal das Joshi (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📕

physically, mentally and spiritually especially through healthy choices in those areas. It is having a balanced state of these parts of the psyche. This definition of wellness implies that wellness is a lifestyle choice. It defines wellness to include not just being healthy physically, but embraces a holistic concept of health that encompasses our whole being-body, mind and spirit.

Different areas of Wellness

There are several areas that individuals need to focus on to take responsibilities in creating a life of wellness. The most common areas are: Spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, interpersonal and environmental. Some additional areas that are not as popular as these are Financial Wellness and Occupational Wellness. All these areas are contributing factors in our healthcare.

Spiritual Wellness

It gives you principles to govern yourself, giving joy and purpose in life. This leads to the ability to love and forgive which is very healing.

Mental Wellness

It gives you opportunity to challenge your mind through continuing education through life,seeking new experiences and mastering new skills.

Emotional Wellness

It is being able to identify your thoughts and feelings and make conscious choices toward a positive emotional outlook. Very important to emotional wellness is the releasing of negative emotions. Negative emotions left unchecked cause physical imbalance leading to diseases.

Physical Wellness

It includes good nutritional practices, exercise and using natural means to heal the body.

Interpersonal Wellness

It is acquiring and upholding relationships. This adds to a happy home and community. Interpersonal wellness is a big factor in your physical and emotional health.

Environmental Wellness

It allows one to have a healthy environment free of toxins with clean natural resources available such as water.

Financial Wellness

It exercises self-discipline in managing your money wisely, meeting financial obligations, budgeting, setting goals and staying debt free. This eliminates your life of much stress.

Occupational Wellness

It looks at your level of happiness and fulfilment in the work you do for a living. Planning and moving towards goals to bring enjoyment in this area is important.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FITNESS AND WELLNESS

Fitness speaks about the cardiovascular capacity, strength and shape of a person’s body. The word fitness means the ability to perform physical activities. This includes discussions on the strength of your muscles, joints and ligaments; the state of your endurance; and the power in which your body is capable of moving. This does not mean health. A person who is fit may not necessarily be fit. “Health” covers a wide array of components which are usually under the umbrella word “wellness”. Wellness in essence, covers all areas of health, spiritual health, mental health, emotional health, physical health, spiritual health, social health, relationship health and so on. Basically, these are all the different components ain a person’s life that can affect their overall “well-being”.

When it comes to ‘fitness’, a person may be fit-be active, participate in sports, be able to lift weights, change the shape of their body, run, jump and increase their cardiovascular capacity-but this does not mean that the state of their body, or their overall “well-being” is in good health. Fitness type of activities can hugely benefit the well-being of the body. But, this is not the only factor that determines the over-all health- the “wellness_ of the person. “Wellness speaks about the over-all well-being of a person from body, mind and spirit.

Chapter: 25 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, EXERCISE, AND PHYSICAL FITNESS

"PHYSICAL ACTIVITY," "EXERCISE," AND "PHYSICAL FITNESS"

PHYSICAL FITNESS

Physical fitness is the basic requirement for most of the tasks to be undertaken by an individual in his daily life.  Physical fitness is the capacity to carry out reasonably well, various forms of physical activities without being unduly tired.  A physically fit individual is capable of withstanding fatigue for longer periods, better equipped to tolerate physical stress, more efficient circulatory and respiratory systems, more efficient and stronger heart and exhibits good mental alertness and absence of nervous tension.

In the words of Charles A. Bucher, “if you are physically fit, your body systems functions efficiently.  You have sufficient strength to engage in vigorous physical activity, you recover quickly from fatigue.  You have reserves of strength, energy and stamina for emergencies.”  Physical fitness is one’s richest possession.  To be totally fit person one must also possess emotional maturity, high ethical standards and ability to get along with others.

In contrast with physical activity, which is relatedto the movements that people perform, physicalfitness is a set of attributes that people have orachieve. Being physically fit has been defined as"the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor andalertness, without undue fatigue and with ampleenergy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies". A number ofmeasurable components do contribute to physical fitness. The most frequently cited componentsfall into two groups: one related to health andthe other related to skills that pertain more to athletic ability.

The health-related components of physical fitnessare (a) cardiorespiratory endurance, (b)  muscularendurance, (c) muscular strength, (d) body composition,and (e) flexibility.

Just as the amountof physical activity ranges from low to high, so doesthe level of physical fitness. Moreover, the levels ofthe five health-related components need not vary inconcert; for example, a person may be strong butlack flexibility.

Physical fitness is very important from various angles.  Some of the major points are described below:

Enjoyment of a better life – With physical fitness one can enjoy a better life, better social status, more happiness and more satisfaction in life. Efficiency for facing emergencies – It imparts endurance and efficiency for facing emergencies and stress situation in life. Prevention of pre-mature aging – Physical fitness prolongs life, by preventing premature aging. Development of personality – Physical fitness programme leads to proper development of all the physiological systems and the body posture. This develops one’s personality by providing grace, smartness and agility in different walks of life. Prevention of minor ailments and diseases – The pressures and tensions of modern rapid life, generally cause depression, high blood pressure and even heart attack. But physically fit persons can avoid such common ailments, with their stamina and endurance power, can withstand the stress and strain of competitive activity, with their strength and energy.  So they can give better performance in games and sports.

                                                           

Physical Fitness Tests Based on Components

Different types of physical fitness tests can be used to understand the physical health. There are tests that focus on gauging your strength, stamina, flexibility and more. Tests can focus on one particular physical trait, a combination of two or several, and even your overall physical fitness. There are 5 of the most popular and commonly used physical fitness tests.

The Bruce Test

Designed to evaluate cardiovascular performance, the Bruce Test was designed as a clinical treadmill stress test. The purpose was to diagnose patients with suspected heart diseases, and the results would point to possible coronary problems. Today, this physical fitness test is also used to measure VO2 Max,or maximum oxygen intake among athletes. You begin on the treadmill at a manageable pace and incline. At certain levels, both incline and treadmill speed increases until your threshold is reached.

Illinois Agility

This test is also called the Illinois Agility Run. This physical fitness test was designed to determine agility. The running course is composed of cones lined up and a set running track that crisscrosses around the cones. This determines your capability to quickly turn in other directions while running at a high speed.

Harvard Step Test

This is also a test for cardiovascular function. This test can easily be administered at home. All you need is a 12-inch-high bench or box to stand on, and a stopwatch. For three minutes, simply step up and down the platform at a steady pace. The time how long it takes for your heart rate to normalize. The shorter the interval, the better your cardiovascular condition is. This physical fitness test is also known as the Cardiac Stress Test or Cardiovascular Endurance Test.

Beep Tests

This test is also commonly known as Shuttle Run.  Some also refer to it as the Pacer Test or 20-meter Shuttle Run Test. To start this test, cones are placed 20 meters apart from each other. Then, run to and from each cone according to recorded beeps. A specialized Bleep Test CD may be required for this. The intervals between bleeps get shorter, thus requiring you to run faster. This physical fitness test is generally used to measure VO2 Max. It is also an indication of your endurance and aerobic energy.

Vertical Jump

This is another test that you can do at home with very minimal requirements. This is used to determine leg muscle strength. It is sometimes called the Vertical Leap or the Sargent Jump – named after American physical education pioneer, Dudley Sargent. To perform the test, you attempt to reach the highest point on a wall by jumping.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Physical activity fosters normal growth and development, can reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, and can make people feel better, function better, and sleep better. Some health benefits start immediately after activity, and even short bouts of physical activity are beneficial. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition outlines the amounts and types of physical activity needed to maintain or improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. It also highlights individual and community-level strategies that can make being physically active easier in the places where people live, learn, work, and play.

 

"Physical activity," "exercise," and "physicalfitness" are terms that describe different concepts.

However, they are often confused with one another,and the terms are sometimes usedinterchangeably.Physical activity is defined as any bodily movementproduced by skeletal muscles that results inenergy expenditure. The energy expenditure can bemeasured in kilocalories. Physical activity in dailylife can be categorized into occupational, sports,conditioning, household, or other activities. Exerciseis a subset ofphysical activity that is planned,structured, and repetitive and has as a final or anintermediate objective the improvement or maintenanceofphysicalfitness. Physicalfitness is a set ofattributes that are either health- or skill-related.The degree to which people have these attributescan be measured with specific tests.

Several elements of physical activity have beenidentified.Physical activity isdefined as any bodily movement produced byskeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.The amount of energy required to accomplish anactivity can be measured in kilojoules (kJ) orkilocalories (kcal); 4.184 kJ is essentially equivalentto 1 kcal (1).

Expressed as a rate (kcal per unit time), theamount of energy expended by each person is a

continuous variable, ranging from low to high. Thetotal amount of caloric expenditure associated withphysical activity is determined by the amount ofmuscle mass producing bodily movements and theintensity, duration, and frequency of muscular contractions.

Everyone performs physical activity in order tosustain life; however, the amount is largely subjectto personal choice and may vary considerably fromperson to person as well as for a given person overtime.

Physical activity during monthly,seasonal, or yearly periods may also be examined to

establish the stability of physical activity for longertime periods.

Categories of physical activity.

Physical activity canbe categorized in a variety of ways. A commonlyused approach is tosegment physical activity on thebasis of the identifiable portions of daily life duringwhich the activity occurs. The simplest categorizationidentifies the physical activity that occurs while

sleeping, at work, and at leisure. A simple formulacan be used to express the caloric contributionof each category to the total energy expenditure dueto physical activity:

kcalsieep+ kcaloccupation+ kcalleisure = kcaltotai daily physical activity

The caloric contribution of each category to thetotal energy expenditure due to physical activity isabove basal metabolic rate and does not include theeffect of diet-induced thermogenesis (which is theenergy expenditure above the metabolic rate