By Sarah Parr

Every Olympics season, viewers in their millions tune in to watch the world's finest array of athletes competing at their physical peak. Naturally, the athlete's commitment to training ensures that they are finely-tuned machines of movement and ready to push their physical limits.

Breathlessly, we watch as these dedicated denizens of fitness give their all for country and the glory of being the ultimate in physical supremacy.

Martin Bentley-Smith Photography 
Whilst any top athlete's gutsy performance certainly is exciting to witness- consider when was the last time you felt your own heart pumping with physical exhiliration as opposed to exhaustion?

If the last time you remember needing to 'stop for a breather' was after a game of springtide bull-rush, then maybe it's time to give your body a not-so-gentle reminder that it was made to move.

Although you may not have considered yourself to be an athlete, your body functions exactly the same way with all the same muscles, perfectly created for one purpose- movement.

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All movement requires you to use your muscles no matter how big or small. During walking, running, or any imaginable body motion you'll use different muscle groups to produce movement.

The human body responds undeniably well to exercise.

When we begin exercise, our reacting muscles immediately start to burn more energy to fuel their contractions- up to 100 times more energy than while at rest (depending on intensity level of course!)

So why just go for the usual walk when you can inject it with the odd 30 sec sprint- you'll feel a little more 'olympian' and also get that heart pumping- and I mean literally! While the average resting heart
pumps about five litres of blood per minute, an exercising heart pumps up to four times this amount.

And the athletic benefits begin even before your trainers hit the track - scientists have found that the heart begins to beat faster even before exercise is started, as the brain anticipates what's about to happen.
Your body, awakened to it's true purpose of movement, confirms and rewards you for your efforts by releasing
endorphins.

The evidence and message are both clear- amp your training up to a new level and wake that body up to better results!  

23 March 11

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