In times of pandemic, with Portuguese gyms closed and people confined for a long time, levels of physical exercise have certainly suffered a sharp decline.
As a result, the individual physical condition and, in particular, some of its components such as cardio-respiratory endurance, muscle strength and mobility should have decreased worryingly, particularly in people who had already spent a long time in sedentary behavior ( time sitting, reclining or lying down (except sleep time) and reduced levels of physical activity.
Once the problem of closure is over, at least until you see it, it becomes imperative to completely change your lifestyle. We should not assume that it is important to return to normality, as this normality was really worrying in terms of public health.
Several recent studies have shown that a large majority of Portuguese people report that they do not practice physical activity in a systematic and oriented way to achieve a certain goal.
For example, the percentage of Portuguese who attend gyms is still far from the average found in other countries, despite the fact that, in recent years, there has been a huge growth in this sector, both in terms of the number of clubs and in terms of the number and quality of exercise professionals.
Thus, for this return to exercise to be effectively safe, it is important that gym practitioners/clients look for the ideal context.
In this way, we can characterize as an ideal context the one in which the practitioner/client has, firstly, access to a rigorous initial physical and functional assessment in the most diverse parameters.
In addition to data related to health and the characterization of any chronic pathologies, it is essential that the practitioner/client ensure that their experience, their static posture, their cardio-respiratory strength, their muscle strength, their mobility and its stability are correctly evaluated.
Secondly, it is part of the context of excellence, the practitioner/client having access to an exercise prescription suited to their possibilities and needs. In other words, it cannot be just any prescription! It should be an exercise prescription that is based on the information collected in the initial assessment.
Thirdly, when practicing the physical exercise that has been prescribed by a qualified professional, it is crucial that the practitioner/client make sure that this practice is properly supervised. This supervision is decisive for the correction of incorrect postures, for the correction of eventual technical execution errors and also for guaranteeing high levels of motivation.
In this context, choosing personalized training programs has proved to be an excellent option. However, when a practitioner/client does not opt for this type of program, the conditions referring to the mentioned ideal context must also be ensured.
Exercising is not good for your health! Doing Physical Exercise well done is what is good for Health. Look for your ideal context and the most qualified professionals! Good training!
Author Rui Batalau is the director of the Sports Science course at ISMAT-Instituto Superior Manuel Teixeira Gomes
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