This year National Fitness Day is asking ‘what does fitness mean to you?’ and aims to celebrate the fact that fitness means different things to all of us.

We asked some young people across Surrey and this is what they told us:

“exercise and healthy eating”

“being active”

“ looking good”

“going to the gym and eating good food”

“feeling good”

“exercise”

‘spending time with friends’

 

We have all been going through challenging times and how we deal with our thoughts and feelings will be different for everyone. Maybe exercise has supported you through the pandemic? Getting out and doing some exercise is not only good for our physical health but it also supports our mental and emotional health and helps us to stay connected if we are doing activities with other people.

Trying something new can also boost our self-confidence and makes us feel good. Exercise should always be fun!

To find out what is available in your area, why not visit theActive Surrey website?

 

Exercise has so many health benefits, both physically and emotionally, do you know what they are?

Do you know what exercise you need to do to get these benefits?

 

Physical Benefits:

  • Develop healthy musculoskeletal tissues ( bones, muscles and joints);
  • Develop a healthy cardiovascular system ( heart and lungs);
  • Develop coordination and movement control
  • Maintain a healthy body weight. For more information visit the healthy lifestyle pages .

 

Mental Health Benefits:

  • Helps you control symptoms of anxiety and depression. For more information visit our emotional health pages
  • Helps you to be sociable by providing opportunities for self-expression, building self-confidence and social interaction by joining clubs and groups.

 

  • It has also been suggested that physically active young people are more likely to lead a healthy lifestyle and not take up things like smoking and alcohol. 
  • It can also help you to achieve more at school by helping you focus and concentrate. The picture below shows the brain scan of students that had 20 minutes exercise before an exam compared to those that didn’t. You can see that the brain of the people that moved around is working better than the others that didn’t move 

two brain scans, one shows the brain after sitting quietly before taking a test and the other shows the brain after 20 minutes walking before the test. The brain after walking is more active

The last few months have been very difficult for everyone in different ways. Over the next few months getting used to our ‘new normal’ may also be challenging.

With all the physical and emotional benefits that exercise can bring now is a great time to start. It gives you some time away from everything that is going on. Whatever sport you chose, have fun, enjoy and be kind to yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cartoon picture of a women exercising

Why not visit the NHS website to find out how much exercise you need to do each day

 

Exercise can also help you get a better nights sleep, visit the Sleep Foundation to find out more

kitten asleep on a soft toy

 

To find out what is going on in your area why not visit Active Surrey