Abano.it - In a hurry! Practical advice for physical exercise outdoors

Exposure to the open air in this season can be an absolute cure-all for body and mind. The “will to act” is certainly a mental reaction, though assisted by a physical one, which communicates the need to move and “rediscover our liveliness.”
Therefore, the desire to combine playing sports with being out in the open springs out of many of us, as well as even wanting to immerse ourselves in greenery.
Here are some suggestions and advice aimed, above all, to those out of practice.
Begin by taking a stroll with ongoing speed until you reach the speed of a light run. Set as your objective small distances and prolong them as you progress with practice. Forget the “Everything Now!”: you would only get more frustrated.

Muscle Warm-up: it is essential to warm-up the muscles involved in the physical activity at least 10 minutes before dedicating yourselves to the physical strain. Thus, carry on with a light stretching of the arm and leg muscles and do some trunk rotation.

Avoid running along the streets: other than the obvious danger, you inhale exhaust gas that, combined with the loss of breath, cut short immediately your strength and hinder you from improving your stamina.

If you run on asphalt preferably use shoes with 2-3 cm shock-absorbing soles, so as to avoid too much pressure on your back. This advice is, above all, aimed at those who suffer from back pains. In order to avoid inflammation, it is important to learn to run correctly, applying the weight of your body on your anterior foot muscles during the run.

Cross-country running
This is a more enjoyable way to run because the athlete is compelled to alter their running, given the obstacles that come up, and represents a good work-out for attaining flexibility. It can, though, have insidious results. Therefore, be careful with where you put your legs, so that you can avoid twisting and spraining your ankles.

Against water retention
It is advisable that women walk fast rather than actually run. Unlike running (where the athlete leans only on the front part of his foot so as to give himself a push to go on), walking, if done correctly, means the foot makes a complete heel-centre-tip movement. The heel gives stability to the body, the foot’s centre stimulates the blood vessels so that they can pump blood and lymph upwards, and the tip provides the force for making the next step. Therefore, walking is good against the stagnation of the liquids.

Final Stretching
As tired as you may be after training, dedicate a few minutes to relax the muscles. Stretch and pull your legs up for a couple of minutes; you can also make a gentle cycling movement upwards so as to help blood and liquids surge back. Do some stretching exercises, such as lateral and forward stretching of your legs, to avoid lactic acid build up.
The lactic acid though is not to be demonised: it can certainly be a bit painful, but it signifies that the muscles have actually been working out, which means that our efforts have been successful.

Some mathematical formulas to assist breathing and resistance
Exercises to increase your bodily resistance and help breathing are ongoing. NEVER work out when breathless. To control your heart beating and check to see if the effort you are making has positive or dangerous results for your body, equip yourselves with a cardio-frequency metre.

Physical exercise with regards to the consumption of calories:

you must work out maintaining a pulse between 65/75% with regards to the maximum heart beat rate.

In order to calculate the beats/minute within which you should remain use this formula:
220 – your age = result x 65% o 75%

Example: a 35year old person, who wants to lose weight, should maintain the appropriate heart beats per minute in between 120/139
220 – 35= 185 x 65% = 120 b.m.
220 – 35 = 184 x 75% = 139 b.m.

Physical exercise with regards to the cardio respiratory work out:

for an aerobic work out (or rather to develop the pulmonary function) the heartbeat must be stabilised around the 75/80% of the cardiac pulse rate.

So: 220 – your age = result x 75% o 85%

Giuseppe Pezzella
Fitness coach, Instructor for the Italian Fitness Federation since 1998, Sailing instructor,
owner of the Fitness Centre Forza 7 of Abano Terme, Padua