Sport and healthy way of life : run your way to health
When I started running seven years ago, I could manage only about a
quarter of a mile before I had to stop. Breathless and aching, I walked the
next quarter of a mile, then I jogged the next quarter of a mile,
alternating these two activities for a couple of miles. Within a few weeks
I could jog half way round Hampstead Heath without stop-ping. Soon I
started to run up the quarter-mile slope to the top of Parliament Hill,
although I had to stop at the top to get my breath back. Eventually I found
that I could even manage to get up the hill comfortably. I started to run
because I felt desperately unfit. But the biggest pay-off for me was—and
still is— the deep relaxation that I achieve by taking exercise. It tires
me out but I find that it does calm me down. In those early days I saw few
other runners. Now there are many more—and not just the macho sports
freaks. Men and women of all ages have now taken up running. Some 25,000
runners aged five to 85 are attracted each year to the Sunday Times Fun Run
in Hyde Park. In the last two years the London Marathon has become the
biggest British sporting event— overtaking the boat race and the Derby in
the number of spectators it attracts. When I started to jog I never dreamt
of running in a marathon, but in 1982 I realized that if I trained for it,
it was within my reach, and after a slow, six-month build-up I man-aged the
26.2 miles in just under four hours. A creditable performance for a first-
timer and a far cry from those days when I had to stop for breath after a
quarter of a mile. What about heart attacks?My story shows that an unfit 39-
year-old, as I was when I started running, who had taken no serious
exercise for 20 years, can do the marathon—and that this is a sport in
which women can beat men. But is it crazy to do it? Does it make sense to
run in the expectation of becoming healthier? What about the chances of
injuring yourself or dying of a heart attack? I was personally convinced of
the health benefits of running because I felt unfit, and I wasn't worried
about the risk of a heart attack, because I was not a smoker and I was
sticking to a fairly low animal-fat diet. But one person I knew well did
die immediately after a jog and plenty of people told me I was mad to start
running. Reassuring evidence now comes from doctors in Seattle, showing
that vigorous exercise actually reduces the chances of heart attack. They
found that people who had a sudden heart attack when they appeared to be
completely fit had taken less exercise than those of similar age. According
to their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (volume 248, p 3113) it is necessary to take 20 minutes of
vigorous exercise at least two or three days a week to obtain some
protection from heart attack. Apart from jogging, the exercise might be
swimming, singles tennis or squash, digging or chopping wood. Whatever it
is, the exercise should leave you out of breath. There is a small risk of
unaccustomed stress causing a heart attack when a person is very unfit, but
this can be reduced if exercise is always increased in easy stages. My
advice is: if you are under 40, are healthy and feel well, you can begin as
I did by jogging gently until you are out of breath, then walking, and
alternating the two for about two miles. Build up the jogging in stages
until you can do the whole distance comfortably. At first, two or three
times a week will probably be enough. People over 40 who are in any doubt
about their health should see their doctor before starting an exercise
program. Over-40s should begin by making a vigorous walk of at least two
miles part of the daily routine. When you can do this comfortably you can
start the mixed jogging and walking routine and progress from there. You
will have to expect soreness of muscles and joints to begin with. If
soreness changes to pain, or if you find that you suffer from deep
tiredness which you cannot shake off, then stop jogging for a while and
just walk.
SPORTS IN GREAT BRITAN.
The English are great lovers of sport; and they are neither playing nor
waching games, they like to talk about them. However, there is important
thing about sport in Britain which we must know. Today, an big sports is
professional and famous players can make a lot of money.
Lat's take Football for example. It is the most popular team game in
Britain. It is played in most of the schools, and there are thousands of
amatur teams for young man in all parts of the country. But for most of the
public, football is a professionals games which is watched on saturday
afternoons at the stadiym.
Professional football is big business. Every larg town has one or more
professional clubs.
Ragby football is played with an oval ball which may be carried. The
players in the other team try to stop the man running with the ball by
frowin him to the ground. There are fifteen players in each team.
Sports competition get big crowds in Great Britan. All people in Great
britan are fond of sport and Englishman know is they train hard Sport will
make them srong and helthy.
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