Ballistic stretching is generally not recommended for everyday people who want to stay in shape or improve flexibility because there is a risk of straining or pulling a muscle. Static stretching stretches muscles more gently without risk of pulling them.

Active recovery prevents postexercise syncope by enhancing venous return in augmenting cardiac preload through rhythmic contractions of skeletal muscle (i.e., the muscle pump). This may be the best justification for performing a cool-down after intense exercise.

Overload arises from the need to increase exercise intensity to maintain a challenging workout: as a body adapts to a given exercise level, the difficulty must be increased to keep challenging the body and making progress.

The overload principle is one of the seven big laws of fitness and training. Simply put, it says that you have to increase the intensity, duration, type, or time of a workout progressively in order to see adaptations. The adaptations are improvements in endurance, strength, or muscle size.

In order to get the maximum out of your training, you need to apply the five key principles of training – specificity, individualisation, progressive overload, variation and be aware of reversibility.

Principle of progression is the idea that the value of a house increases when more valuable houses are built in the area. This contrasts with principle of regression, which is based on the concept that larger, more expensive houses lose value when they are near smaller, less valuable homes.

For example, the weekend athlete who exercises vigorously only on weekends, but not regularly during the week, does not exercise often enough to see solid results and so violates the principle of progression. The Principle of Progression also makes us realize the need for proper rest and recovery.

A progression is a series that advances in a logical and predictable pattern. In mathematics, for example, the series 2, 4, 6, 8 is an arithmetic progression. If asked to give the next number, most people would reply 10. A movement forward, especially one that advances toward some achievement, is called a progression.

Overload and progression are two basic training principles. Overload refers to the amount of load or resistance, providing a greater stress, or load, on the body than it is normally accustomed to in order to increase fitness. Progression is the way in which an individual should increase the load.

To get optimal gains in maximum strength, the body needs a complete recovery, so 48 to 72 hours. In concrete terms, if you perform a chest session, you will need to wait between 2 to 3 days before working the same muscle group again.

In order to get the most out of your training, you must follow some basic simple training principles which are overload, specificity, reversibility, and variance. Overload means we must put our bodies under more stress than normal in order for adaptive changes to be made.

principle helps you create a workout plan that will be more effective in reaching your fitness goals. F.I.T.T. stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise. These are the four elements you need to think about to create workouts that fit your goals and fitness level.

The Overload Principle is considered the most important concept in exercise. In simple terms, it means that your body will adapt to the demand you impose on it.

Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease—even for people who have no other risk factors. It can also increase the likelihood of developing other heart disease risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.

What are the health risks of an inactive lifestyle?

• Obesity.
• Heart diseases, including coronary artery disease and heart attack.
• High blood pressure.
• High cholesterol.
• Stroke.
• Metabolic syndrome.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Certain cancers, including colon, breast, and uterine cancers.

If you are not physically active you increase your health risks in many ways. Coronary Heart Disease, strokes, high blood pressure, breathlessness, flabby body, little energy, stiff joints, osteoporosis, poor posture, overweight.

Not doing enough physical activity doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity, and increases the risk of breast and bowel cancer, depression and anxiety.

Lack of physical activity can add to feelings of anxiety and depression. Physical inactivity may increase the risk of certain cancers. Physically active overweight or obese people significantly reduced their risk for disease with regular physical activity.

Reasons for physical inactivity violence, high-density traffic, low air quality, pollution, lack of parks, sidewalks and sports/recreation facilities.

If you do less exercise or activity you will become deconditioned. Your muscles weaken and lose bulk including the muscles you need for breathing and the large muscles in your legs and arms.

If you can walk independently and maintain a speed of 4-6km/h for half an hour per day, then walking is sufficient exercise. Walking needs to sustain your interest in the long term. Walking can protect against chronic diseases, and there is less risk of injury compared to other forms of exercise.

Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

It’s important that you rest on a rest day. This means doing lighter activities and varying your training schedule to include active recovery. A rest day allows your body to consolidate the hard work you’ve been doing. Muscles recover, adapt and become stronger and your nervous system has a chance to regenerate.

Athletes who train too frequently run the risk of overtraining, causing stress, exhaustion, fatigue, irritability, decreased performance and even injury. Your body transitions from a state of muscle building to muscle break down. In this case, too much of a good thing turns into a bad thing.

Sure, sometimes you need a total recovery day if you’re feeling entirely spent, but generally speaking, rest days are an in-between zone where you can still get moving in moderation. Light exercise, like gentle yoga, walking, swimming or stretching, are all good choices for the quickest recovery during a rest day.

It’s safe enough to do every day, unless your doctor says otherwise. But if you’re doing moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, rest days are essential. It’s recommended to take a rest day every three to five days. If you do vigorous cardio, you’ll want to take more frequent rest days.

Exercising when you’re running on empty also increases your risk of injury. So if you’re exhausted, the best thing you can do for your body is to get a good night of rest and get back in the gym the next day.

6 Things Athletes Should Do on Rest Day

• Listen to Your Body. First things first, no one knows your body as well as you do.
• Get Adequate Sleep. Mental and physical rest is equally important when letting your body recover.
• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate.
• Eat Right.
• Stay Active.
• Stretch or Foam Roll.

Skipping your workout becomes a problem when you skip for more than two days in a row, say experts. It’s incredibly easy for one missed workout to turn into two, three and more. It’s okay to miss one or two workouts but the key is never to skip more than two days in a row.