Put your feet up

Forget fad diets and get-ripped-quick routines. Rest is one of the best ways to get in shape.

- LISA ABDELLAH

Exercise is good for you. As registered biokineticist Hlalefo Senoamali says, it improves your muscle strength, allowing you to move and perform daily activities more easily. It boosts your circulatory system’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your brain, heart and active muscles, which in turn makes it easier for them to function.

So, if you exercise regularly, you’ll find you’re more mentally alert and have more energy. When your heart works more effectively, it can deliver blood and oxygen to your external organs optimally. That lowers your risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and others.

Combining high-intensity exercise with low-to-moderate cardio and resistance training helps you build lean muscle mass. You also improve your metabolic rate meaning you burn fat more easily, even when you’re resting.

But, he cautions, these adaptations can only happen if you rest enough. “If you don’t allow your muscles to repair the degeneration that initially happens after exercise, it’ll increase your risk of muscle-related injuries such as spasms, cramps, tears and strains.