II. Vocabulary in context. TEXT: how to achieve health benefits

TEXT: HOW TO ACHIEVE HEALTH BENEFITS

We all know that exercise is important in keeping the body healthy and reducing the risks of disease. It also cuts down on stress and protects the body's immune system. But for many people, the word exercise conjures up hours of boring, strenuous activity. Recently, however, scientific studies have found that health benefits can be achieved with non-strenuous exercise.

This is very encouraging news for all those people who thought they had to be athletes or work as hard as athletes to make exercise worth it. The new guidelines say that every adult should do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. And these 30 minutes can even be broken down into smaller segments during the day. The important thing is to be consistent and make exercise part of your daily life.

There are many ways to achieve this without buying expensive equipment or joining a health club. Walking is one of the best ways to get exercise. Try to go for a walk after lunch or dinner to boost your metabolism and work off some calories. If possible, walk all or part of the way to work or school. Use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can. Gardening, raking leaves, and dancing are also good activities. However, walking to the coffee or vending machine doesn't count! As for sports, even if tennis or golf don't appeal to you, hiking and cycling can be relaxing and beneficial, too.

Remember, you can be serious about exercise without taking it too seriously!

“No pain, no gain” – consider a lot of people. You don't have to hurt to be fit. Moderate exercise improves the working of the lungs and heart; may reduce the risk of premature death. In fact, if you feel pain, not just discomfort, you should slow down or stop or you will injure yourself. Anyway, you need to exercise for 45 minutes or more to do any good. Breaking a sweat for 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week is enough to reap major health benefits. More than this will make you fitter but not necessarily healthier. And finding an hour for exercise is impractical for many people and unnecessary for most.

If you can get in shape exercising 10 to 15 minutes once or twice a week, that's not much better than nothing. But new studies do show that 15 minutes or more three to four days a week does do some good, especially for previously sedentary people.

Many people think, that if they stop exercising for a short time, they'll lose everything and have to start over again. Staying in shape is easier than getting fit in the first place. After you reach a level of fitness, even taking a week off to rests minor injury won't put you back to the beginning. A longer rest will make a difference, so if an injury stops you from working out normally, try changing to another activity. Swimming, for example, is a good way to stay in shape while resting a sore knee.

What about women who lift weights, they can increase strength and endurance without building bulky muscles, because they have far less testosterone – a hormone necessary for building muscles – than men do. For women to develop larger muscles through weight lifting requires an intensive training program.

Also, exercising will make you eat less. Your appetite may increase in response to an intense, vigorous exercise program, but a moderate one won't have much effect. And exercising just before you eat will make you less hungry. Raising your body temperature through exercise decreases your appetite.