A_Complete_Handbook_of_Nature_Cures

Exercise in Health and Disease
exercise. Other forms of good exercise are swimming, cycling, horse-riding, tennis, etc.
Precautions
Vigirous exercise of any kind should not be taken for an hour and a half after eating, nor
immediately before meals. Weak patients and those suffering from serious diseases like cancer,
heart trouble, tuberculosis and asthama should not undertake vigious exercise except under the
supervision of a competent physician. If exercising makes you tired, stop immediately . The
purpose of exercise should be to make you feel refreshed and relaxed and not tired.
The most important rule about the fitness plan is to start with very light exercise and to increase
the effort in gradual and easy stages. The sense of well-being will begin almost immediately.
One can start off with a brisk walk for 15 to 20 minutes. A comfortable sense of tiredness should
be the aim. It is valueless and possibly harmful to become exhausted or seriously short of
breath. Perhaps, one should aim at activities which need about two-thirds of one’s maximum
ability. One way to assess is to count your own pulse rate.
Counting of pulse is quite easy. Feel the pulse on your left wrist with the middle three fingers of
your right hand. Press just firmly enough to feel the beat easily. Now count the number of beats
in 15 seconds, with the help of a watch with clear second hand and calculate your rate by
multiplying by four. At rest heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute. This rate increases during
exercise. Really vigorous can produce rates as high as 200 beats per minute or more.
Reasonable aim is to exercise at about two-thirds of maximum capacity. It follows that heart rate
should be about 130 per minute during and just after exercise. Always avoid over-exertion and
never allow your pulse go above 190 per minute minus your age.
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