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Why Be Active?

father and son playing softballPhysical activity does your body good by strengthening your heart, lungs and muscles and loosening up your joints so you can reach and bend easily

Physical activity does your body good by strengthening your heart, lungs and muscles and loosening up your joints so you can reach and bend easily.

Physical activity makes your heart & lungs stronger

Your heart and lungs are muscles work better if you do aerobic activity like regular running or cycling.  Aerobic activity makes you breathe faster and makes your heart pump harder to deliver fresh oxygen into your blood stream and then to your brain, working muscles and other parts of your body.   The more often you are active, the stronger your heart and lungs get.    Try some of these heart-pumping activities:

  • swimming
  • soccer
  • skating and rollerblading
  • biking
  • skiing
  • jumping rope
  • running

Physical activity strengthens your muscles

Your muscles are your powerhouse – they allow you to move.   They get stronger when you use them regularly and especially when you ask them to do more work than they are used to doing. Try some of these strength-building activities:

  • swinging on the monkey bars
  • lifting a heavy school bag
  • push-ups
  • tug-of-war
  • running

Physical activity includes stretching

Stretching makes the body feel good by releasing the tightness in your muscles.  The more you stretch, the less injuries you’ll get when you are active.

It’s easy to find things to help you get more flexible:

  • gymnastics
  • yoga
  • dance
  • martial arts
  • simple stretches like touching your toes

Physical activity makes you feel good

It feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you like to do.

But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood. When you exercise, your brain releases a chemical called endorphins (say: en-dor-funz), which may make you feel happier.

Additional Resources

 

Healthy Ontario

 

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