Exercise:

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health.It is performed for many different reasons. These include: strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, and weight loss or maintenance. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent diseases of affluence such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease and obesity.It also improves mental health and helps prevent depression. Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help decrease the effects of childhood obesity in developed countries.
Before starting an exercise program, talk to your doctor about what you have done in the past for exercise; mention any problems that you had. Consider your current health status and other medical conditions that may affect the type of exercise you can do. Make sure you can set aside time for your exercise program. The Surgeon General's report on exercise suggests 30 to 45 minutes a day of brisk walking, bicycling, or working around the house. This amount of exercise can reduce risks of developing coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.
If this amount of time seems too much, consider starting with 3 times a week. The important thing is consistency. This is an ongoing program and you will not benefit without consistency. Two types of exercise are resistance training and aerobic exercise. Resistance training--sometimes called strength training--helps to build muscle mass. Aerobic exercise is important because it strengthens your lungs and your heart. You can read more about these on the next couple of pages
Resistance or strength training is important for people with HIV because it can help offset the loss of muscle sometimes caused by the disease. This form of exercise involves exertion of force by moving (pushing or pulling) objects of weight. They can be barbells, dumbbells, or machines in gyms. You can also use safe, common household objects such as plastic milk containers filled with water or sand, or you can use your own body weight in exercises such as push-ups or pull-ups. The purpose of resistance training is to build muscle mass. Use the correct amount of weight for the exercise you are performing. You should not feel pain during the exercise. When starting a resistance training program, you should feel a little sore for a day or two, but not enough to limit your regular activities. If you do feel very sore, you have used too much weight or have done too many repetitions. Rest an extra day and start again using less weight.