Why is exercise is so good for us?

Every year I run two Rosemary Conley Weeks – one at Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and one in Lech, Austria. They are both quite different but both are extremely rewarding as with each week, the guests are able to completely relax and enjoy beautiful surroundings and at the same time learn a great deal about diet and fitness. They are able to eat healthy low fat food that is prepared for them and undertake lots of exercise in all kinds of different forms. It works and that’s why this week is my 15th year at Ragdale and in two weeks’ time it will be my 25th year of running the Austria trip!

Ragdale Hall is only 20 minutes from where I live and they love organising this special week. This year we have around 90 guests in my group – including four husbands – and, as well as being pampered with facials, manicures, pedicures, rubs, soaks and massages in the most luxurious surroundings, they listen to three talks and have two workouts from me. By the end of the week they fully understand how to lose weight, become fitter, burn fat, tone up and eat healthily. Each year around two-thirds of the guests return for another helping of motivation and education to see them through the 12 months till we meet up again. It is a delightful week.

The Austrian trip is quite different. It is based on activity rather than pampering as each day we ramble through the mountains for a couple of hours, chatting together and soaking up the glorious scenery. Yes, the guests get the talks and the workouts, but the freshness of the mountain air is revitalising and the group do everything together – including the Concert Night when any of our guests who are talented in performing in some way – singing, poetry, comedy, acting, dancing – entertain us to our great delight. It is a unique holiday and every year we are fully booked.

Whilst we are able to enjoy beautiful healthy food on each of these weeks, it is the activities that make the difference. At Ragdale guests can go to as many classes as they wish in between their treatments and the fully equipped gym is there for everyone to enjoy. In Austria, there’s the early morning walk, the main hike (2 hours) plus a workout on most days, and that’s on top of the walk to the open air swimming pool for those who enjoy a dip.

By the end of each week most folk have lost weight. In Austria we have a Slimmer of the Week Award and it isn’t unusual for the winner to have lost seven or eight pounds! On both trips the guests eat very well but the difference is the activity they do. Exercising with others, in an environment that is conducive to being more active, is brilliant. It somehow seems more ‘normal’ and not so much of an effort. But we can develop habits at home that encourage that too.

It is important to realise that any exercise that makes you warmer and a bit out of breath is ‘aerobic’ and that all aerobic activity burns fat and stimulates our metabolic rate even after we stop exercising. On the other hand, using weights or a resistance band to do ‘toning’ exercise works our muscles and makes them stronger. The stronger our muscles, the higher our metabolic rate becomes. So it is easy to see that by including aerobic activities and toning exercises into our regular fitness plan, we are not only helping ourselves to lose weight and burn fat, we are strengthening our muscles and stimulating our metabolic rate. Add to that the fact that exercise helps to tone up our skin as we lose weight, so that it doesn’t go saggy and baggy, you really shouldn’t need any more convincing that exercise is good for you! And that’s before you take into account the fact that exercise helps our heart and lungs towards overall better health. It really is a win/win/win situation. There is absolutely no down side.

Our biggest excuse for not exercising is lack of time yet the average time we watch TV in the UK is 27 hours a week! If we could just find 30 minutes every day to be more active, we could transform our health, our weight and our figure!

Check out my DVDs if you want to exercise at home, or consider coming along to one of our Diet and Fitness Club classes and enjoy exercising with others just like you. Our website has all the details: www.rosemaryconley.com