So here we are – January done and dusted; pandemic properly staying, vaccines on their way to SA – and we absolutely need to stay fit and healthy as part of the solution to beating this virus. 

Physical activity is good for us – it’s part of our mantra at Planet Fitness – but we aren’t being biased! According to new guidelines released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), physical activity provides a number of health benefits for adults and children.

Adults:

• It helps to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
• Stay calm and keep gyming: being active reduces depression and anxiety.
• It’s great for your mind: working up a bit of a sweat supports improved thinking, learning, and wellbeing.

Children

• Physical fitness is simply good for growing kids and teens.
• Heart pumpingly on point for cardiovascular health!
• It’s great for bone health too.
• And, intellectually speaking – it boosts cognitive health.
• Sadly, stress is becoming more common at an earlier age – combat feeling low with physical activity, it’s known to be good for mental health.
• It also reduces adiposity (excess fat), which is becoming important as youngsters are compelled to spend longer behind screens with online learning and lockdown restrictions, which have hampered school and varsity sportslife.

TOP TWO BENEFITS OF BEING PHYSICALLY ACTIVE

#1.  Build up your immunity!

While South Africans wait for a vaccine – our best defence is to strengthen what nature gave us, and build a healthy immune system.  With the summer Covid-19 spike hitting hard, as well as a second strain of the virus to contend with, staying physically active is your number one way to fight the pandemic as it currently stands. It’s also a way to flatten out those unwanted 2020 curves that inactivity has produced!

Did you Know?

Covid co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and obesity can be addressed with exercise.

In the same study, the United Kingdom collected data from over 8 million member check-ins and while 17 cases of COVID-19 were reported, contraction did not happen at any of the 1300 fitness facilities in the study. And in Australia, researchers gathered over 6.26 million check-ins from 423 gyms and fitness facilities, and while data shows 13 cases of COVID-19, there have been zero reported community transmission cases.

#2.  Beat stress with mental fitness

Physical activity increases the flow of oxygen to your brain. Gyming or staying physically active at home will help you to beat stress and gain a more positive outlook on life because it brings on an increase of those “feel-good” chemicals  (endorphins). In December, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group reported that call volumes more than doubled to 1400 a day since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown. Staying physically active helps to stimulate a positive outlook on life.

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29 January 2021
Written by:
Lisa Short at LSCommunications for Planet Fitness at 083 738 2811 / lisa@lscommunications.co.za