Exercise is essential in our lives. It improves physical strength and has a good effect on the body which enables you to live a healthy life. There are many people today that are exercising to stay healthy. How about you? Do you exercise regularly? Or do you put off exercise because you don’t know which exercise is good for you? Then, follow our lead! The JBNU Globe will inform you about the importance of steady exercise and how to find the workout that fits you best.

● Survey about Exercise Habits of College Students

The JBNU Globe held an online survey from March 15th to 22nd regarding college students’ exercise habits. The first question was “do you exercise regularly?”, and of the 38 participants, 17 (44.7%) said they do. They do aerobic exercise (76.5%), weight training (52.9%), and exercise for posture correction (17.6%), such as pilates and yoga. When asked about the advantages of steady exercise, one respondent said, “I became more diligent by exercising consistently. Plus, I can increase my stamina and do the things I want to do.” He also mentioned that he feels happy when he achieves his daily exercise goal. Another respondent said when she exercises, she feels refreshed and her worries melt away.

However, there were 21 respondents that claimed they did not exercise regularly. They accounted for more than half (55.3%) of all participants. The question is, why don’t they exercise regularly? Most answered, “even though I started exercising, it is hard to do it consistently.” Some people said they didn’t like exercise or didn’t have enough time because of part-time jobs and school. The JBNU Globe asked whether they know the proper exercise method that suits them. The results were that 32 out of 38 people, which accounted for 84.2% of total participants, said “yes”. Among the people who said “no” (16.8%), there were cases of former injury. For example, muscle injuries can occur when holding a too-heavy dumbbell or ankle inflammation gets worse due to frequent running. To prevent injuries, it is important to know what kind of exercise you need. From here on, the JBNU Globe will introduce the benefits of regular exercise and ask for some exercise tips from experts. Read on!

● Tips for Regular Exercising

The reason why we must exercise regularly is because of the guaranteed effects. Exercise is an activity where we intentionally move our body to stay healthy or to train our body, and it improves both mental and physical functions. Exercise is effective for mental health as it releases endorphins which improve our mood and reduce stress in our daily life. In addition, continuous aerobic exercise helps improve our cognitive ability and memory, which in turn helps us learn more effectively. From a physical perspective, exercise prevents obesity by continuously consuming energy. Exercise causes minute damage to muscles, which increases muscle mass. The increased heart rate during exercise allows the body to transport more blood and oxygen to the heart, thereby smoothly supplying blood to the whole body.

Then, how can we continue to exercise on a regular basis? The trick is to set specific goals. Set goals, whether the purpose of exercising is to improve physical strength or lose weight. Continue exercising, even if you don’t feel like it. For beginners who have no experience in exercising, it is recommended to begin an exercise that you want and can easily often do, and choose a nearby place.

Exercise can be divided into aerobic and anaerobic categories. Aerobic exercises increase breathing and heart rate, while anaerobic exercises focus on muscle strengthening without increased respiration. Aerobic exercise is a type of physical activity that uses your large muscle groups and stimulates your cardio output. Aerobic exercises such as power walking, jogging, cycling, and dancing can be helpful for beginners. In general, aerobic exercise is recommended three times a week, to the point where you are slightly out of breath for more than 20 minutes. If you have the good basic physical strength and athletic ability, participating in various sports is one of the ways to exercise regularly. If you choose sports such as soccer, badminton, swimming, and running, you can benefit from both strength training and aerobic exercise, all the while without feeling tired of exercising.

When it comes to anaerobic exercise which uses energy stores to supply working muscles in the absence of oxygen, the most difficult thing for beginners when doing weight training is to have the right posture. Therefore, it is recommended that beginners use a weight machine. In order to increase muscle strength, you need to do exercises that include large muscle groups in the upper body, whole body, and lower body. This is recommended two or three times a week, ten times per set, with a total of three sets. Many athletes need muscle training using equipment such as barbells and dumbbells for various sports. However, the number, frequency, and intensity of muscle training should vary depending on the purpose of the exercise. In addition, core exercises such as the 'Plank', 'Bird Dog', 'Dead Bug', etc. are also important to prevent injuries and enhance sports capabilities.

● Expert Advice on Exercise and Physical Care

The JBNU Globe asked Song Eun-young, a health exercise manager from the Jeonju NFA (National Fitness Award) service, for some more tips about exercising and physical care.

Q1. What should we keep in mind when we exercise alone?

A. If there is no change or enough stimulation even though you exercise consistently, you should set a higher goal. If the stimulus is minimal, the effect is also minimal. Our bodies can change when the nervous, muscle, and hormone systems are stirred up. However, if you are exhausted after exercising for a long time, you should stop the exercise or decrease the intensity. Don’t ignore your body’s signals, and also don’t try to push for a more dramatic effect all at once.

Q2. How can we get the correct information about exercise?

A. We hear too much information about exercise nowadays. However, not all that information is correct. Even if it's a good exercise method, you should always do it according to your own exercise level. Incorrect exercise information or methods can cause injury and health problems. Therefore, it is better to get direct guidance or advice from an exercise expert.

Q3. How can we distinguish between muscle pain from exercise and pain from the wrong posture?

A. The pain caused by the wrong posture may not appear at first. However, as we keep that posture during exercise, we can still feel pain when resting. The wrong posture also causes a physical imbalance in our bodies and increases the risk of injury. In this case, stop exercising and correct your posture first. When you exercise quickly and intensely, or if you do extreme exercise continuously, you can get muscle pain. The difference between muscle pain and pain caused by the wrong posture is how long the pain lasts. Muscle pain recovers after 24 to 72 hours but the pain caused by the wrong posture lasts even when we rest.

Q4. What food should we eat and which should we avoid?

A. Just as it is necessary to exercise regularly for a certain period of time, also following basic nutrition guidelines is vital. Check your meal plan to make sure it evenly contains carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. In addition, avoid unhealthy food and snacks that contain processed sugar, such as soft drinks and chocolate.

● Places Both Body and Mind Can Become Healthy

Do you want to know where to exercise? The JBNU Globe introduces the facilities available in Jeonju.

1. National Fitness Award Center

Song Eun-young, a health exercise manager from Jeonju NFA (National Fitness Award), introduces NFA’s programs. NFA is a national sports welfare service aimed at improving people's physical strength and health. It is conducting programs that measure and evaluate people’s physical strength status using scientific methods. In addition, it issues a national fitness certificate and provides exercise counseling and exercise regimens. The programs available in Jeonju include physical fitness measurements, exercise regimens, and physical fitness classes.

Anyone over the age of eleven can use the NFA center, but you must make a reservation in advance. Making a reservation is not difficult. Register as a member on the NFA website, book the date and time, and then go for a visit. It is also possible to call the center directly. After that, if you want more systematic management, you can use the fitness program provided by Jeonju NFA. The program consists of about 25 people and it takes eight to twelve weeks. It is held five times a year, and the specific schedule is made available through Jeonju NFA's Kakao Talk, blog, and by calling. What's amazing is that it's all available for free! Therefore, it is recommended that you make a reservation in advance to ensure that the system runs smoothly.

2. Jeonju Health Center

The Jeonju Health Center also gives exercise guidance through a physical fitness program for free. The JBNU Globe asked Shin Hye Soo, a fitness instructor at the health promotion team of Jeonju Health Center, about the physical fitness program.

The first step of the physical fitness program is to examine body composition. Body composition is used to describe the components that comprise the human body such as fat, muscle, water, and protein. People can understand their physical condition more accurately after measuring their body composition using a measuring device. The measuring device sends a weak alternating current to the body to measure total body fluid. This test is for evaluating skeletal muscle mass, body fat percentage, etc. The result is used to diagnose obesity, manage weight, and provide a nutritional evaluation. The next step is personal counseling based on the measurement results with the fitness instructor. After the counseling session, you can choose to apply for the physical fitness program. If you choose to apply, an instructor will guide you one-on-one in your workout. This exercise guidance is only for one time, and then you can freely exercise on your own.

You might be wondering why measuring body composition is needed. That is because the maintenance of your body composition’s balance is essential for health and quality of life. In particular, the correct balance between fat and muscle increases energy levels and decreases the risk of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. If people have high body fat, they are at risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and premature death. On the other hand, low body fat decreases bone density and makes people vulnerable to disease. Low muscle mass also causes problems. It can cause problems with metabolism, make the regulation of blood glucose poor, and cause osteoporosis. To prevent such cases, you need to check and analyze your body composition.

Lastly, you need to make a reservation before exercising in the training room. Only five people can use the training room for one hour on a first-come, first-served basis. The schedules are not posted on the homepage, so you need to book the training room after each visit. You can also call the center to make a reservation. Every Jeonju citizen under the age of eighty is available to use the training room in the center. There is no limit to the amount of use, but only an hour per day.

It is easy to be overambitious when you start exercising. However, as stated above, you are at risk when you exercise improperly. You need to check your physical condition and learn the suitable workout methods for you. Start with baby steps, as this can help you regularly exercise. Enjoy your exercise safely!