April is African American Women’s Fitness Month
Guest Writer: Mona Klenja - Student Intern, Spring 2022, Rutgers University
April has been declared as the African American Women’s Fitness Month. Its focus is to encourage African American women to be physically active to combat heart disease and strokes - a leading cause of death. While heart disease and strokes are leading causes of death amongst all women, African American women have a higher chance of dying from these diseases. Physical activity for just 30-minutes a day is an excellent lifestyle activity that improves heart-health and improves overall health.
Most women desire to be physically active, but with the demands of working full time, being boss ladies, raising a family and other life responsibilities that tends to fall on women in the household, fitting physical activity into an already packed schedule can seem impossible. Over time, these daily responsibilities often take precedence and physical activity takes the backburner.
Despite these life realities, making time for physical activity is very important for maintaining your body’s health and wellness. If your body becomes unhealthy or you suddenly find yourself unwell, it would be even more difficult to carry out all the activities you usually perform. Incorporating just 30 minutes of physical activity in your day can help you improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, build strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and reduce the risk of developing health conditions such as heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Maintaining an active lifestyle will improve your mental, emotional and physical fitness. Being physically fit is a key factor that allows the systems of the body to work together efficiently, which in turn helps you to perform regular daily chores with ease and the least amount of effort. It might be surprising to learn that incorporating physical activity in your day can give you more time to meet home responsibilities, energy to work, and ample time for leisure activities.
Incorporating physical activity in your day does not need to be overwhelming or include a gym membership! Here’s a few examples of activities worth considering:
● Yoga - Practicing yoga has great benefits. It reduces stress and boosts immunity.
● Walking - Just walking 30 minutes a day is an excellent way to maintain a healthy weight, and control chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
● Zumba - This is a safe upbeat activity filled with great music and dance moves. Zumba is an excellent way to break a sweat while having a ton of fun.
● Aerobics - This can be 30 minutes of swimming which is low impact if you have joint pains and has great benefits.
● Strength Training - This is a fantastic way to build muscle and burn calories; so grab a couple of dumbbells and do your bicep curls!
It’s important that you find an exercise that you enjoy doing as this increases the likelihood that you will continue to do it. Additionally, having a buddy can improve your physical activity experience by keeping you accountable. Another way to keep yourself accountable is to wear a fitness watch or pedometer. A fitness watch or pedometer can track your daily steps, display how many calories you burn, and how long you were active for. It can help you understand how much you are exercising and if you are meeting your workout goals.
Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator and park further away from your destination and walk.
Incorporating physical activity into your daily life is a great way to strengthen your body, maintain a healthy weight, relieve stress, and improve your overall health and wellbeing.
