Sports is one of the indispensable elements of a Healthy Lifestyle. “I live healthy, eat a balanced diet, sleep well, protect from radiation but do not exercise” ... This is incomplete and does not fit our Healthy Lifestyle. Sport is an absolute necessity for anyone who says "I want to be healthy and stay healthy".

We will deal with the issue of the effects of sports on our body and its health benefits at another time, we will return to the topic of sports often. Let's talk about some practical issues related to sports today.

Principles of Sport

Let's start with 2 basic principles first.

Discipline

First one; sport is discipline and order. Arbitrary activities are games, entertainment, but not sports. Sport is a form of worship, that is, service to our body, and we owe it to our body. It is an obligation to train and strengthen this vehicle, which carries us around for a lifetime, and a worship requires approaching with seriousness. So occasionally playing ball, jumping rope, throwing a few strokes, running are not sports, go ahead, don't fool yourself. Just as worship is done at certain times and at certain times, so should sports.

Make yourself a schedule for this. Of course, you can say that in modern life, in a fast-moving life, I cannot find time to spare for sports. But this shows that you are not serious about healthy living only. Because after you really want it, once you are determined, you can make time for this important action. For reasons such as work, travel, meetings, exams, you should exercise at least 3 days a week (let's assume that you allocate 1 day to rest, half of the remaining 6 days), if not every day. Of course, the ideal is to do it on the same day, at the same time, but we can also stretch it from time to time to adapt to living conditions. Even if we could not do it on the day or time we determined, it is necessary to make up for that time, otherwise the end of the rope will run out.

Rivals

Our second principle is that we are our only opponent in sports, the only person we will fight against. Do not forget that we are not talking about professional sports, competitions, races, the Olympics, we are talking about sports necessary for a healthy life. “That person is lighter but lifts more weight than me, this person is younger than me but can run longer” etc. Pass delusions such as. Everyone's health or disease status, genetics, condition, style, and habits of their muscles or tendons are different and their possibilities in sports branches depend on many factors, this does not concern us. Our own body concerns us, we must focus on its possibilities, this is what determines us.

Let's move on to practical problems, without forgetting these principles.

Which sport?

Which sport should we do? Whatever comes to your convenience, whatever you have talent, whichever you love. If you have fondly done any sport before, you can start it again. If you have never done sports, my suggestion is to jog on land, swim in water. These are the most basic sports. You don't need much technical knowledge, skills or tools. If desired it can be done with professional help and scientific methods of course,  but it is not absolutely necessary.

When?

When should we do sports? Let's go from the example of running, it is a sport you can do in summer and winter. If you can, do it every day of the week, if not, at least skip the day for 3 days.

Time?

What time should we do sports? I think the ideal time is in the morning. I greet the sunrise while doing sports on the beach or on the mountain, in this way, we also directly receive and benefit from some subatomic particles that reach the earth with the first rays of the sun. But for those who do sports outside, I do not recommend doing sports, especially in the summer when the sun starts to rise, I think that it exhausts the body. At worst, you should have finished by nine o'clock, the sooner the better. If you are going to do sports in the gym or at home, if you cannot find time at other times due to work, education, school, children, choose the time that suits you.

Where?

Where should we do sports? I prefer nature, beach, forest, mountain, park, I use whatever is in my area. But if these are not around you, or if you prefer to do sports indoors, you can do sports in the living room or in another room of your house, so there is no space requirement for this. The important thing is to be a place where you feel comfortable.

How To Start?

How do we start sports? Let's take the running. First, set yourself a track. On the first day, walk around this track with normal steps, on the second day go with a light paced walk, do the same track, namely jogging, on the third day, start the sport by running with a slow jogging pace that will make you sweat a little and force you a little. İf you have  diseases, such as traumas, heart failures, asthma etc, these are important, in case of doubt, please seek professional help and advice. As we said before, we are not preparing for an Olympics, we do not make money from this business, we do not have to risk something.

How Much Sport?

How much should we do sports? Speaking for running, walking speed for an hour is around 5 kilometers, so it is appropriate to run this distance on average routinely when we have a good pace, then the time will decrease to half an hour or less over time depending on your body condition. Of course, this distance is too much in the beginning. So try a distance of 1 kilometer at first, I repeat, avoid situations that will force you too much. In time, the distance and / or time will be insufficient for your body and you will naturally increase them. Your body will tell you this, talk to you, listen to yourself.

Tempo

Another point that should always be in our minds about sports in Healthy Lifestyles is that we do not want to show or prove anything to anyone. We have goals to stay fit, to train our body, to beautify our body and maybe to live longer. Therefore, we are our opponents, our audience, and our referee. As a sports lifestyle, it will be an activity that we will do throughout our life, so we need to adjust our pace to a level that will not reduce our duration even after years, so that the tone of the muscles does not decrease and our skin and muscles do not sag. Therefore, do not start sports fast, go to very high tempo and heavy processes, think long term, go balanced.

Clothes and Supplies

Let me remind you of one last thing about sports, your clothes and materials should be of good quality, afford to spend a little too much for them, you will not do this too often. The importance is that poor quality or unsuitable shoes, clothing or tools can cause more injuries and disabilities. Another reason is that these reasons that you are not comfortable with, cause a subconscious reaction over time and after a while you start to get away from doing sports.

Keep doing sports and Stay Healthy.

Dr. Emin Ali Tutuncu / 03.09.2020 / Antalya

( instagram: @eminalitutuncu – wa.me/0905443097978 )