Healthy Living

Part 1

It is very difficult to live healthy nowadays. We are in continuous rush.

Even if we have the knowledge what to do to have a healthy life, it is very difficult to combine it with every day’s duties.

On the other hand, during last years we realised how important this matter is. With every year we care more and more to live healthy. We are trying to maintain the ‘keep fit’ lifestyle, but do we really understand what does it mean?

To be ‘fitness’ means to be in general state of good health. So how should we organise our life to be this way? There are many opinions and answers to this question. One of them is presented in the LaLonde report, who suggested that health is dependent on four related aspects, which he called "human biology", "environment", "lifestyle", and "healthcare organization". Therefore, health is maintained through the science and practice of medicine, but can also be improved by individual effort. Physical fitness, a healthy diet, stress management training, stopping smoking and other substance abuse are examples of steps to improve our health.

Now, let us focus on the definition of word ‘fitness’. Physical fitness is the result of regular physical activity, proper diet and nutrition, and enough rest for the body to recover.

There are four components of fitness: stamina, strength, suppleness and speed. Level of stamina determines how long we can do physical exercises without getting tired. The important factor that is affecting our stamina is how effectively our hart and lungs are working. These two organs are responsible for supplying oxygen to our muscles, what is essential for them to perform well.

The second component of fitness is strength. It is quantity to force that we can use when our muscles are working against something. There are three types of strength: explosive strength, dynamic strength and static strength. The first one we use in an immediate action like jumping or sprinting; the second, when our muscles perform and support our body over a long period, for example in distance running; and the last type of strength describes the maximum force that can be applied by a muscle or muscle group to a static object, for example when we want to move something.

Suppleness is the ability to achieve full range of movements of our body, what reflects how well we can move our joints. It is also known as flexibility. Suppleness is an important part of our everyday life; however there are sports and exercises that need much more flexibility than the average, such as gymnastic or dancing.

The last component of fitness is speed, which can tell us, how fast we are. Speed can be divided in two categories: movement and reaction. The first one is how fast can we cover a specific distance, as in swimming or running. The second type is the reaction time, which says how fast can we respond.

Many people want or need to be fit because of the job they do, the sport they play or the body shape they want to achieve.

We all know that exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, yet few of us get enough. Perhaps it is time to change our lifestyle and to become healthier.

Part 2

There are many factors which can affect one’s fitness level. I will try to describe some of them.

A proper diet is a basic of good health. We should pay attention to what we eat and in what quantities. Nutritious food can provide energy which is needed for the