Difference Between Exercise and Physical Activity
Exercise is very much required in modern life. Yet there are some people who say, that they do a lot of physical activity during the day, and that, they do not require exercises. Yet this is not correct, as there is a big difference between exercise and physical activity. Any physical activity is not exercise. Exercise is a structured activity that aims to improve the workings of the entire body and the different organs in it. This article will show the differences between physical activities and exercises.
Housework, walking, gardening, moving up and down the stairs, cleaning the house and washing clothes are examples of physical activities. In general, any body movement can be called physical activity. Exercise is also a kind of physical activity, but there is a specific intention to improve some aspect of health. Therefore, exercise is structured and planned physical activity that causes visible improvement to the body and general well-being. Physical health is a concept that is hard to define as it includes both mental as well as physical fitness. Fitness and health are targeted by all, and for this, exercise is required.
It is prudent to spend some time in doing exercise when a person is young. This will lead to a more healthy body in later life. In old age, it will be difficult to indulge in physical activity and exercise may not have the desired effect on the weakened body. Many exercises are very similar to regular physical activity. Some such examples are swimming, cycling, walking, running and sports such as golf, cricket and tennis. If a person hates to go to the gym and cannot do the cardio exercises and weight lifting, then he can still go the simple activities described above to receive all health benefits.
There are many differences between physical activities and exercises. First, low physical activity is not always beneficial for health. They have low to moderate intensity. There are some benefits to health only through exercise and not through physical activity. Through exercise, a person can exactly measure how much benefitted he would be. Exercise also benefits the specific organs in the body. There is no physical activity that can be specifically designed, to benefit the organs in your body. However, you can design an exercise course to target any particular body part or internal organ.