GO Exercise

Our bodies are fine-tuned machines that combust fuel (food) in a chemical reaction with oxygen (derived from the atmosphere we breathe) to generate energy. If we don’t eat, we will find our bodies weaker, unable to generate energy without fuel. And of course if we don’t breathe, or if we reduce the concentration of oxygen that we breathe, we will also find it more difficult to generate energy.

At higher altitudes, the atmosphere is thinner, and so it is more difficult to perform strenuous activities. Even everyday exhertion, like a brisk walk, can prove difficult for a person who has just arrived in a high altitude location from a low altitude origin.

This presents athletes with an opportunity to supercharge their cardiovascular systems. By training at high altitudes, where oxygen is scarce, they can improve their body’s ability to extract performance out of smaller amounts of oxygen. When they return to lower altitudes, they will experience a respiratory boost, and be in better condition than athletes who have engaged in comparable training at a low altitude.

It’s a widely known fact of exercise that spot training doesn’t work. You cannot remove the fat on your stomach by performing situps; you must reduce your fat intake and increase your fat burn, and then you will experience a body-wide reduction of fat.

Yet people persist in spot training, and some even feel they see it work. What gives?

The answer is that many people are more concerned with external appearance than with the actual composition of their bodies. It’s true that you cannot remove fat from your belly with situps, but you can improve your saggy appearance. By strengthening the stomach and core muscles, you can make your trunk firmer, and fat will be held up rather than droop. Although it will not be gone, you may find an improved waistline and visually you will appear more fit.

We know about the positive impact of exercise on muscles, and the cardiovascular system. But can exercise make your skin healthier? It depends how you wash up when you’re done! Vigorous exercise makes us prespire, opening the pores and cleansing them of accumulated contaminants. Especially if we drink well before and after, a vigorous workout flushes out our system, epidermis included.

But letting all that sweat sit on our skin is obviously not good - it can lead to pimples and rashes, and doesn’t smell great either. So treat yourself to a nice hot shower immediately after exercise, and also be sure to scrub off with a rough towel. This will gently remove any dead skin cells, leaving you with a lustery glow.