Why is recreation and physical activity important?

Refer to the Handbook Chapter 3.9 for full details

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

Benefits of regular physical activity
A healthier state of mind
Aim for at least 30 minutes a day
Physical activity guidelines
Ways to increase physical activity
See your doctor first
Where to get help

Sometimes an activity seems to fit in both the Skill and Physical Recreation Sections, so how do you as a Award Leader give the best guidance for a Participant to select the Section that this activity will count towards? In order to understand whether an activity is more suitable for Skill or Physical Recreation, it is important to look at the overall ethos for each Section. For Physical Recreation, we talk about breaking a sweat and engaging in physical activity, whereas for Skill we talk about broadening your personal interests and skill set in a non-physical manner. Clay shooting or archery are Olympic Sports, but may be considered sedentary activities. However, these activities often require body strengthening and general aerobic fitness to perform safely and effectively.

Here are some examples where similar activities can be very different and how you would decide the most suitable Section for your Participant to undertake that activity.

Please note: These are examples only. There may be other activities like this where, as an Award Leader, you will be required to offer guidance to your Participants.

Example 1: A young person may enjoy fishing. Regular fishing on land is fairly sedentary and doesn’t require much physical exertion; therefore this could be classified as a Skill. On the other hand, fly fishing (which occurs in the water) tends to be more physically intensive. This may also apply to deep sea fishing. Whilst participating in this activity, you break a sweat; therefore this is classed as Physical Recreation activity.

Example 2: Learning to drive is classified as a Skill as minimal physical activity is required. On the other hand, Motorsports is classed as Physical Recreation as this requires physical fitness.

Example 3: Participants may opt to do dance for their Physical Recreation section of their Duke of Ed. Styles of dance that are classified as Physical Recreation would include jazz, ballet, hip hop, salsa and tango. On the other hand, if a Participant opts to do choreography, this could be classified as a Skill as the focus of their work is not the physical activity. Likewise, dance theory could also be a Skill as the focus is on understanding the theory behind dance, not actually dancing.

If you are unsure about how an activity should be classified please check with your State/Territory Award Operating Authority before the activity is commenced.

The most destructive as well as the most misunderstood concept in fitness today among researchers, the commercial health facilities and the general public alike is the confusion of exercise and recreation. All of us can probably agree that both exercise and recreation are important in the overall scheme of health and fitness and that both overlap to some degree. However, to reap the maximum benefits of both or either, these terms must be well-defined and be segregated into practice.

In recent years many of the national health and fitness organizations have been inappropriately lowering the standards of exercise and telling people to: “relax”, “go at an easy pace”, “stop if you feel discomfort” and “exercise should be fun”. In addition, newspapers, television news programs, magazines, books and health and fitness professionals have been singing the same tune. We are constantly being told that activities such as gardening, grocery shopping, cleaning the house and taking the stairs instead of the elevator, all qualify as exercise. However, an active lifestyle does not replace the need for a structured exercise program. Exercise and physical recreational activity are two completely separate entities. Simply stated, exercise is a process whereby the body performs work of a demanding nature. The initial reasons for performing exercise are purely physical. Exercise is a requirement to improve the physical condition of your body. Recreation on the other hand, can be defined as activities that are diversions from your daily routine. The initial purpose of recreation is to enhance your mental health. It is something that you choose to do because it is fun. A mistake that most people make is to condition themselves through recreational activities. A person may experience some fitness benefits from physical recreational pursuits, but they will be marginal and incomplete.

A proper exercise program has immense potential physical benefits – probably more than most people even suspect. Therefore, why are so many people not reaping the full benefits that exercise has to offer? Could it be that we are not being correctly informed about what constitutes a result-producing exercise program? Just because an activity increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, makes you feel fatigued, induces labored breathing, makes your muscles sore, or makes you sweat, do not assume that you have meaningfully productive and worthwhile exercise. You can have all of these exercise effects without qualifying for exercise. Exercise effect does not assume effective exercise. The essence of exercise assumes a purpose of physical improvement. If you choose to participate in an activity that you feel improves your fitness level and the results are little to non-existent, maybe you are not involved in a productive exercise program.

Most people assume that the main objective of an exercise program is to discover how much weight they can lift, how many repetitions they can perform, how far and fast they can walk, run and swim, or how long they can keep their heart beating within the “target heart rate” zone. Many people are led to believe that just by participating in an activity that involves movement, using a specific piece of exercise equipment, utilizing a unique training method or becoming involved with a new type of exercise class, they will automatically reap physical fitness improvements. This misguided approach can often lead to poor results, over-training, injuries and frustration.

The most important question to ask yourself before beginning an exercise program is, “What does my body require to maximally improve its physical capacity and appearance?” The answer to this question leads us to the real objective of an exercise program. The real objective is to correctly utilize the tools of your exercise program (exercise equipment, training method, amount of effort and concentration, level of relaxation, etc.) to provide a sufficient stimulus to your muscular system. The greater the stimulus, the greater your exercise results. Therefore, your body will produce physical fitness benefits, if and only if, the stimulus of exercise is present and the body is then permitted adequate rest, nutrition and perhaps most importantly time, in order to produce improvements in the body. (Stimulus + Recovery = Results)

If you confuse and mix exercise and recreation, you will grossly compromise any forthcoming physical benefits of exercise; you destroy a large degree of the fun that recreation should supply; and you will make both more dangerous than they need be. If you can place exercise and recreation in the proper perspective, the quality of your life will markedly improve.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.
See everyday activities as a good opportunity to be active.
Try to find the time for some regular, vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness benefits.
Minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting and break up long periods of sitting as often as possible.

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life.

A minimum of 30 minutes a day can allow you to enjoy these benefits.

Benefits of regular physical activity

If you are regularly physically active, you may:

reduce your risk of a heart attack
manage your weight better
have a lower blood cholesterol level
lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers
have lower blood pressure
have stronger bones, muscles and joints and lower risk of developing osteoporosis
lower your risk of falls
recover better from periods of hospitalisation or bed rest
feel better – with more energy, a better mood, feel more relaxed and sleep better.

A healthier state of mind

A number of studies have found that exercise helps depression. There are many views as to how exercise helps people with depression:

Exercise may block negative thoughts or distract you from daily worries.
Exercising with others provides an opportunity for increased social contact.
Increased fitness may lift your mood and improve your sleep patterns.
Exercise may also change levels of chemicals in your brain, such as serotonin, endorphins and stress hormones.

Aim for at least 30 minutes a day

To maintain health and reduce your risk of health problems, health professionals and researchers recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days.

Physical activity guidelines

Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines state that:

Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
Do muscle strengthening activities on at least two days each week.

Ways to increase physical activity

Increases in daily activity can come from small changes made throughout your day, such as walking or cycling instead of using the car, getting off a tram, train or bus a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way, or walking the children to school.

See your doctor first

It is a good idea to see your doctor before starting your physical activity program if:

you are aged over 45 years
physical activity causes pain in your chest
you often faint or have spells of severe dizziness
moderate physical activity makes you very breathless
you are at a higher risk of heart disease
you think you might have heart disease or you have heart problems
you are pregnant.

Pre-exercise screening is used to identify people with medical conditions that may put them at a higher risk of experiencing a health problem during physical activity. It is a filter or ‘safety net’ to help decide if the potential benefits of exercise outweigh the risks for you.

Print a copy of the adult pre-exercise screening tool (PDF) and discuss it with your doctor, allied health or exercise professional.

Where to get help

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