| Enter the date of the first test at the top and the | | | | kicking' the moment we draw our first breath and bawl |
| results of each activity beneath the heading: FIRST | | | | our lungs out. It shows how vital oxygen is to us. To |
| SURVEY. | | | | stay alive, we need a good dose of oxygen to stream |
| Take your second test three months later and enter | | | | through our lungs. It is the foundation required for our |
| the date as also the results beneath the heading: | | | | body-conditioning. |
| SECOND SURVEY. | | | | So far, you may have thought of your lungs as a pair |
| After your second survey, award yourself with:extra 5 | | | | of bellows that help you breathe. Now, let us see what |
| points for each activity where you have | | | | happens when you inhale. Your lungs process the air. |
| improved(+5).subtract 5 points where you haven't | | | | To give you an analogy - before cooking, you take a |
| progressed(-5).zero where there is no change (0). | | | | cupful of rice. You clean it by separating the grain from |
| Symbolically, fit is only an alphabet away from fat. It is | | | | the tiny stones. Then, you take the separated grain |
| symbolic because ou remove the common 'a' and | | | | and put it in the vessel for cooking. Similarly, your lungs |
| replace it with that special 'I'. 'I' as in me, myself, as in | | | | separate the oxygen from the air (which includes |
| individual. | | | | nitrogen and other gases like carbon monoxide) and |
| The 'a' in the word 'fat' could be: | | | | send it through your body. The pure oxygen is |
| A three-packs-a-day smoker, | | | | absorbed by your red blood cells into your |
| A between-meal-times-and-while-watching- TV | | | | haemoglobin and these little sponges of oxygen bob in |
| snacker, | | | | your bloodstream. Your bloodstream is like a great |
| A nervous type who cannot sleep at night, | | | | river coursing through your body, carrying these |
| A person whose weighing scales groan every time he | | | | oxygen sponges to the tissue. (Tissue is muscle, bone, |
| steps on them, | | | | nerve. A group of cells form a tissue, and a group of |
| A diabetic/heart patient, etc., | | | | tissues form your organs Âheart, lungs, stomach.) |
| A depressive, | | | | At their destination, these sponges 'squeeze' out the |
| A stressed-out person, | | | | oxygen and reabsorb the waste carbon dioxide from |
| A drinker of alcohol, | | | | your tissue. They bob back to your lungs from where |
| A non-active couch potato, | | | | the waste gas is expelled. |
| But by getting into the fitness lifestyle the 'a' vanishes | | | | Your fitness depends on your lungs' capacity to |
| from 'fat' and is replaced by a healthy glowing 'i' as in | | | | process air. The more air your lungs process, the more |
| FIT. Watch the 'I' emerge... | | | | oxygen you will get into your tissues and the more |
| I don't need those blasted cigarettes. | | | | efficiently will your body work. Aerobic exercising does |
| I do not feel hungry all the time. | | | | precisely that - it increases your lungs' efficiency and |
| I can sleep soundly. | | | | helps them 'suck' in more oxygen into your system. |
| I can take my weight without that shrinking feeling. | | | | You will now understand why smoking is so harmful to |
| I have controlled/banished my illnesses. | | | | your health. When you smoke a cigarette, you inhale |
| I feel light and joyful. | | | | carbon monoxide which in normal circumstances |
| I can relax without worrying. | | | | would be filtered out by your lungs. The act of smoking |
| I don't need to drink to unwind. | | | | is like an underworld don sending his gun-toting thug - |
| I feel active and energetic all the time. | | | | carbon-monoxide Âinto your home. The thug |
| The changing of 'a' to 'I' is a gloriously fulfilling process. | | | | (carbon monoxide) terrorises your chief security guard |
| However, if you are over 35 years of age or have | | | | (your lungs) who is forced to let him in. This killer gas |
| any medical problem, remember to check with your | | | | reaches your blood cells and grabs the haemoglobin in |
| physician before embarking on an exercising | | | | a paralysing grip. This way, he stops the oxygen-rich |
| programme. | | | | haemoglobin from reaching your tissue, and impairs |
| If you have answered the questions in the 'How Fit | | | | your body from working efficiently. |
| Am I?' personal survey, you would already be aware | | | | However, the good news is that by stopping smoking, |
| of your health and fitness level. But you would like to | | | | your body can recover and regain its normal efficiency |
| know a little more, wouldn't you? For example, what | | | | within a few weeks unless, of course, it has scarred |
| happens inside your body? So, let us get an | | | | your heart in the meanwhile. |
| understanding of his marvellous mechanism that | | | | Aerobic exercising not only strengthens your lungs but |
| Nature has gifted all of us with. | | | | also expands the space around them thus allowing |
| Lung power | | | | them to expand more and process more oxygen. |
| At birth, every one of us is pronounced to be 'alive and | | | | |