Re: Health & Exercise tips!!
Singaporeans love to run - just ask the 53,000 who took part in last month's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, running a variety of distances, from 10 to 42km.
This number is nine times as many as the 6,000 who took part in the first marathon in 2002.
But Dr Lim Baoying, resident physician at the Changi Sports Medicine Centre at Changi General Hospital (CGH), would like to see even more Singaporeans lace up their running shoes.
The benefits of running are manifold, she said.
It is a relatively cheap activity to pick up and can be done alone or in a group.
It does not need any special equipment, only a good pair of running shoes.
"Any person, of any age, can start running as long as he does not have any medical conditions that make it inadvisable for him to exercise.
"He should also build up his regimen slowly to reap the long-term benefits of running regularly," said DrLim.
Those who have not been exercising or have a medical condition should check with their family doctors before running.
Running involves a series of processes - the muscles, tendons, joints and bones moving in sync.
They are fuelled by energy from food, delivered to the muscles by the cardiovascular system and maintained at a standard temperature by the body's cooling system.
When a person runs, the four body systems (musculoskeletal, energy, cardiovascular and cooling systems) should have the ability to cope with the demands brought on by the physical activity of running.
Injury occurs when any of the systems is unable to cope, said Dr Lim.
"When a person runs, there is repeated high impact on his muscles, tendons and bones," she said.
These structures need to be strengthened to prevent stress fractures in the bones of the legs, and muscle strains and tendon injuries in the muscle groups of the legs.
"Hence, we have to emphasise the importance of proper warming up before a run, to prepare the body for it, as well as a whole set of stretching exercises before and after running," said Dr Lim.
WARM UP
To warm up for a run, do a short jog of five to 10 minutes. This should make you breathe a bit harder and your heart beat a bit faster.
After each short warm-up jog, do the following stretches as shown.
Hold each stretch for 10 to 15 seconds.
After two or three warm-up jogs and stretches, you are ready for the actual run.
Stretching is the process of lengthening muscle and soft tissue to improve flexibility, which is the maximum range of joint motion that can be achieved without injury to the joint supporting the tissues.
A flexible runner is more efficient, enjoys faster improvement in strength and endurance, is less injury-prone and recovers more promptly.
There are some general principles to stretching.
Do not stretch cold muscles.
When warming up, stretch after a short jog rather than before.
Ease into each stretch; do not bounce or force the movement.
After a run, you should stretch again.
This time, hold each stretch for 30 seconds; repeat two to three sets on each leg.
Mr Cheok Shiunn-Huei, sports trainer at the Changi Sports Medicine Centre at CGH, demonstrates.
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