Health Promotion and Exercise Training

Abstract

Health is determined not only by the absence of disease, but also by an individual's resistance to pathogenic factors. In turn, resistance depends on the effectiveness of specific homeostatic regulation and the mechanism of general adaptation. Through the change in adaptivity, health may be increased or reduced. While it is difficult to predict which specific homeostatic mechanism will be necessary in various stages of life in the individual, it is more reliable to try to improve health, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the mechanism of general adaptation. Physical training results in a variety of changes in individuals. There are several changes which are essential both for increased exercise performance and for increasing adaptivity, by favouring the effectiveness of the mechanism of general adaptation. These changes: improve central nervous regulation and central nervous system functions; increase endocrine system capacity; increase energy potential; improve the capacity of the oxygen transport system; improve oxidation processes; increase metabolic and functional economy; increase functional stability; and increase the number of Na+,K+ -pumps. The influence of these changes on adaptivity is accomplished by the influence of exercise training on immunoactivities, and by the antisclerotic effect of training. The latter may be considered to be metabolic (actualised through the training effect on lipoprotein metabolism and aging-related calcium distribution) or mechanical (protection of tissues from sclerotic changes by their activities) effects. The training effects are specifically dependent upon performed exercises. Endurance exercise is considered to be the most important and widely recommended form of exercise for health improvement. Most of the training benefits (listed above) for increased adaptivity are induced by aerobic endurance training. Gymnastic exercises are indispensable in regard to mechanical antisclerotic effect. They are also essential influences on the central nervous system. Aerobic dance or aerobic rhythmic gymnastics are ways by which the positive effects of endurance and gymnastic exercise can be combined.

Promotion of Physical Activity for Children and Adults With Congenital Heart Disease

“…[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] The benefits include well-described physiological improvements in skeletal muscle function, vascular health, immune system function, obesity prevention, 24 and complex psychological, cognitive and social function. 25 Emerging science also suggests that the health risks associated with inactivity, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, cancer, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, occur independent of the individual's physical fitness 17 or compliance with daily physical activity recommendations.…”

Body images of 4–8‐year‐old girls at the outset of their first artistic gymnastics class

“…The sport of artistic gymnastics is often promoted for the health and fitness benefits known to be associated with increased physical activity (Viru & Smirnova, 1995). It has been estimated that more than 52,000 girls in the United States alone participate in artistic gymnastics (O'Connor, Lewis, & Boyd, 1996).…”

The Effect of Aerobic and Anaerobic Physical Training on the Absorptive Cells, Absorption of Carbohydrate and Protein in Small Intestine

“…A physical training is essentially something given to the body to produce an adaptation that can increase its functional capacity (Davis et al, 1997;Viru & Smirnova, 1995). Completion of a morning swimming session alone or together with resistance exercise can substantially enhance sprint-swimming performance completed later the same day (Courtney, 2017).…”