The Three Fundamentals

By Doug Morris

Staying in good shape and health has become a goal for many and a necessity for others, because it is really the key to what we call quality of life. But what is the best way to achieve it? Simple… There are three key elements to put into practice: weight training, cardiovascular exercise and a good diet. These are the three fundamentals that will get you the quality of life you have always wanted.

Without going too deeply into semantics, being in good shape is rather an ambiguous thing, since everyone could interpret it differently. Good physical form is something like beauty: it depends on the eye of the beholder. However, we could look at the issue simply from the health aspect of being in good shape and healthy.
From that point of view, it means having good cardiovascular health, which would imply a normal resting heart rate of less than 70 beats per minute; as well as other parameters like healthy and stable blood pressure – around 120/70; low blood cholesterol and especially LDL, the bad cholesterol – less than 200; and a base blood sugar level of les than 100mg/dL. These are the indicators of internal health that governs out quality of life to a large extent.
And just as these factors are considered the medical indication of someone’s state of health, there are also external indicators of good physical health, such as good muscle tone, energy and vigour in abundance, low body fat and the harmonious development of the body as a whole, along with good flexibility. Today the way you look is valued almost as highly as how physically capable you are.
So, the best way to accomplish all these things is by applying the three fundamentals: weight training, cardiovascular exercise and a good diet.

Weight Training
Weight training provides numerous benefits for health and, obviously, physical appearance. Previously many athletes thought that weight training would cause them to be less efficient in their various disciplines, and women assumed it would make them look masculine. Today these fears have been disproved and have disappeared, and weight training forms an important part of any athletes training routine, since it has been shown that when a muscle gains strength it also gains power and speed, and it can also be used with greater control. Thus, working out has become of great interest to swimmers, cyclists, footballers, tennis players, etc. May women have also found that by working out they can create new curves and shape in their bodies that, far from making them look masculine, heighten their femininity and make them more attractive.
Weight training helps build better athletes, both male and female, and protects against injury, and it is also the ideal tool for reshaping the body and giving it better lines and proportions. This is why you should train every muscle group in your body once a week.