The all important key which leads to that sense of well-being is aerobic fitness. To attain this you need to perform an activity or several activities which will cause your heart to function better and your body to use oxygen more efficiently.

These activities must be performed regularly. I have added a list of The Five Elements of Fitness  activities showing their relative value in producing aerobic fitness. The main fitness factors - flexibility, strength, speed, power and muscular endurance are shown. Any of these factors can be created to some degree depending on the type of activity you select.

Activity which will increase the heart rate over a prolonged period of time (so the heart muscle will strengthen and your body will function better) is called rhythmic activity. It should become part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth.

Conventional sport is not up for discussion, a languid game of golf once a week, an occasional game of football or baseball or a few days a year spent skiing do not produce a state of fitness. Sport is fine and most of us enjoy it. It makes us feel better - but only for a while.

Source: Russo, P. Aussierobics, Summit Books, [ISBN 0 7271 0383 0]

Let’s begin with a scientific principle which goes like this:

To illustrate this point two people - one fit and the other unfit - were made to ride on stationary lab bikes. These bikes are called ergometers, since ‘ergo’ means work. The force which is needed to pedal the machine is the work load. This work load is measured in units called kiloponds (kp).

Both people rode the ergometers for 9 minutes at different work loads: namely, 300, 600 and 750 kpm (kilopond meter) respectively over successive three minute intervals. A lab assistant recorded their heart rates at the end of each three-minute period. See table below for the results.

Notice how the heart rate of the unfit individual is much higher. Their heart is being made to work much harder. It is less efficient than that of the fit person whose heart beats much slower. Their heart doesn’t have to work hard to supply the necessary oxygen for that activity.

For the next nine minutes they rested. Their heart rates were recorded again at the end of each three-minute period. The second part of the table shows these results. The fit person’s heart recovered to its resting rate much faster. Even at the end of the nine minutes the unfit person’s heart hadn’t returned to its normal resting rate. Thus, the fitter you are, the better your body will function and the better you will feel.

The difference between the heart rates of fit and unfit people.

If we take the difference in the heart beats before any activity - 25 beats per minute, the figures are staggering.

Difference:

25 beats per minute
1,500 beats per hour
36,000 beats per day
252,000 beats per week
13,104,000 beats per year

STARTING POSITION: Lie on your back with the knees bent (right angle at the knee joint)

KEY POINTS:

CARE: should blades slightly squeezed together, neck long.

ADVANCED: As this becomes easier, slowly straighten the bent let.Continue to draw the leg being stretched towards the same shoulder, WITHOUT bending the knee. As the stretched leg is able to maintain a straight position, gradually extend the leg on the mat to an flat position, WITHOUT the back arching. The foot should be flexed.

The quadriceps is a group of 4 major muscles in the front of the thigh and is a significant part of the hip-flexors group. When these muscles are over-strong or too tight they tend to tilt the pelvis in an anterior position. This in turn tends to create a small arch in the lower back, lengthening the lower abdominals and causing the iliopsoas (see Hip Flexors (Iliopsoas)) to also shorten accentuating the arch in the small of the back.

Although the mid and upper abdominals may appear flat, they are probably not working hard enough to counter the hip-flexors pulling the spine forward. This for of the exercise is especially for those who may, like me, have knee joint problems.

STARTING POSITION: lie on a mat face down with a small folded towel placed under the stomach to ensure correct abdominal & lumbar positioning.
Bend the right leg drawing the foot to the buttock. Reach back with the right hand to grasp the foot.
The body should remain in a straight line, WITHOUT the shoulders twisting OR the knee shifting away from the straight line with the hip. A mild to strong stretch should be felt along the front of the right thigh.

Breathe out and bend the right elbow in order to bring the heel closer to the buttock - flattening the small of the back and the right hip bone to the floor. Remain in the stretch position for the usual 10 breath period, drawing the heel closer to the buttock with each breath PROVIDED there is no knee joint pain. This should be an extremely strong stretch in the middle of the thigh. Press the right hip bone into the floor.

KEY POINTS: the towel is to help prevent the back from arching and taking pressure.

CARE: if you can’t bend the knee to the buttock comfortably, it’s a clear indication that the quadriceps are, indeed, too tight. If any pressure is felt in the back (it may be arching too much, or the body is not in a straight line), place a towel around the foot, hold on to the towel and use it to draw the foot towards the buttock.

Ensure the foot is in a direct line with the buttock and drawn over to the INSIDE of the thigh.

REPETITIONS: 2 sets of10 breaths, alternating legs.

Here is a simple Body Mass Index Calculator. It’s provided free of charge by Google gadgets.

The BMI Gadget can also convert your measurements into Metric just click on the metric tab after you have entered your measurements. If you only know your metric measurements click on the Metric tab and you can input them. It will also convert metric to imperial measurements as well.

This is a simple scale of 0 to 10. Zero being no stretch where no pain is felt and no stretch occurs.

Ten, on the other hand, is where the pain level is extremely uncomfortable to unbearable. The position cannot be maintained. This is a level where you feel there is no benefit to the movement or your body. Regularly striving or this level may result in long term tissue damage and is to be avoided at all costs. The only exception to this rule is the quadriceps stretch.

If you feel any pain or discomfort during a movement or stretch, evaluate it rationally by asking yourself at what level it lies on the scale.

1-5 represents a mild stretch and continued stretching in this zone is safe - PROVIDED no other body parts are being affected. At this level the exercise can be easily controlled and many repetitions can be performed.

6-8 represents a strong muscular stretch that challenges you but does not cause pain.

9 represents a real struggle where the muscles are shaking. When approaching level 9, the feel of the stretch or movement changes from one of comfort to discomfort and pain. In this zone damage may occur. It is better to back off to the work zone and continue to exercise at that level than to risk forcing the muscles and causing injury.

10 represents unbearable pain and should never be experienced. At this level the exercise cannot be controlled and so should not be attempted.