CHOOSING A FITNESS PROGRAMME 1: CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING

You’ve decided to lose weight, or maybe you are slim but you have decided you need some physical activity. You head to a gym to register but then you are confused about what fitness programme is right for you. In this article and the next three, I would briefly highlight four components of fitness training to help you make an informed decision. These are: Cardiovascular training, Resistance training, Flexibility, and Motor skills.

Cardiovascular training: the term “cardiovascular” relates to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood vessels. The cardiovascular system is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body. A cardiovascular fitness programme would therefore aim at building the circulatory system. Cardiovascular fitness not only improves your ability to carry out activities more efficiently, but, also reduces the risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, among others. Some benefits of cardiovascular fitness include:

It increases the bone density. As you age you lose bone density, cardiovascular fitness helps prevent this.
Decreases body fat due to utilizing fat as energy, i.e. weight loss.
Increases heart function and its ability to pump more blood
Increased endurance and stamina
Increases metabolism
Improved immune system
Reduces stress and anxiety

Cardiovascular exercises include: zumba, running, jogging, dancing, cycling, swimming, step aerobics, kickboxing. Cardiovascular activity usually ranges from 30-50 minutes depending on the intensity. Low intensity workouts would have longer duration while high intensity workouts would have shorter duration If you prefer to workout with equipment, you can gain cardio fitness from using the treadmill, stationary bikes, stair steppers, elliptical machines and rowing machines.

Cardiovascular exercise is good for everyone, children, adults, men, women, fat or slim. If you are looking to lose weight or maintain your body weight, incorporating cardiovascular exercises to your weekly activities would help you achieve this.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

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