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I am not a
physiotherapist, or sports scientist. I am not even a medical
practitioner. But since experience – it is agreed, is the best teacher,
I believe I am adequately equipped to share the little I know about
sports exercise and the benefits.

In last week’s
column, tilted ‘SAVE OUR HEROES’, I wrote inter-alia, that – “it is not
about how many millions we have in our bank accounts, or shares we have
bought. It is not also about the number of landed property we have
acquired over the years, it has to do with taking very good care of our
bodies. Don’t be deceived please, no matter how rich you are; if your
body is not in good condition, it is not likely that you will live to
enjoy your wealth…”

The question is – how does a human being keep his body in good or healthy condition? The answer is simple – exercise.

Exercise is defined
as a physical activity and movement, especially when intended to keep a
person or animal fit and healthy; or a series of movements or actions,
designed to make the body stronger and fitter. Unfortunately, most
Nigerians intentionally or ignorantly indulge themselves in the
sedentary style of living and I make bold to say that this is partly
responsible for the state in which we find ourselves and the state of
the nation today. It is sad because even some of those who claim or
pretend to be involved in sports exercise are doing the wrong things.
As a matter of fact some of them are destroying themselves gradually.

I visit the
National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, once in a while, especially on
Saturday and Sunday mornings. The initial impression you get, is that
of thousands of people involved in keep-fit exercises, from aerobics to
jogging, walking, playing of tennis, basketball, football, and
volleyball. You also see a lot of martial art groups. There are also a
number of bicycle riders and roller skaters. Those involved in these
exercises range from the socially-disadvantaged (area boys), to
students, amateur/professional athletes, professionals like lawyers,
engineers etcetera. There are also business men and chief executive
officers, most of whose belly size make them easily identified.

Defeating the purpose

I sincerely do not
intend to be disrespectful. It is just that I feel strongly led to
concentrate on them today, for so many obvious reasons and I believe
that there is the urgent need for us to educate ourselves on the need
to do things pertaining to healthy living correctly.

Please permit me to
make a positive digression, very quickly, by sharing a personal
experience on the benefits of exercising the body. A few months ago,

I experienced a
very excruciating pain on my back, after travelling back home to
Nigeria, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Dubai. I had this same experience
a few years ago, travelling from the West Coast of the U.S.A. via
Chicago, Europe to Lagos. I spent thousands of naira purchasing pain
killers and receiving treatment from the physiotherapist, before Coach
Sule Bello of the National Sports Institute, took me through some very
basic exercises and encouraged me to concentrate on them. I did and to
the glory of God, the pain disappeared after a few days of consistent
exercise. That was after the trip to the U.S.A.

This last
experience was however different, because one of the courses I studied
in the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was sports physiology, which
has to do with the study of how an athlete’s body functions, especially
as it reaches the limit of performance and endurance, so I knew exactly
what to do. I was no longer ignorant.

The same back ache
started, apparently because of the unnecessary long distance flight
from Sao Paulo up to Dubai and then back down to Lagos. I pray
something is urgently done to correct this anomaly. My first night back
home was horrible. I was so tired I almost found it impossible to
sleep, especially with the back ache and the jet lag effect. So I
remained in bed the whole morning until it was mid day when the sun was
at its best. I put on my running kits and took to the road. Thank God I
live in a private community where I enjoy the luxury of jogging anytime
I wish to do so. It was a very warm afternoon and so I embarked on what
we call ‘walk-a-jog’, for about 45 minutes, within which I covered
about 5 kilometres. After going through some stretching exercises for
about ten minutes, I drank a lot of water, had a warm shower, before
lying down on my bed. It did not take me five minutes before I slept
off and by the time I woke up, the back ache was gone. I did not take
any pain killing medication. Thank God, for sports exercise and wisdom.

Back to the
National Stadium scenario I was trying to paint before I digressed.
Some of the ‘big men’ who take part in what they describe as exercises,
oftentimes leave the stadium with more ‘poison’ in their bodies. It is
common knowledge that immediately after the exercises, they embark on a
liquor-drinking, fried turkey/chicken/meat eating exercise. This takes
more time than the sports exercise they are supposed to concentrate on.
I do not think this is proper. A percentage of the money wasted this
way, can be wisely spent to purchase functional running canvases,
instead of the cheap ones I see them wear, that I know can damage their
ankles and knees, which can eventually affect their waist and back. A
word is enough for the wise.

Meanwhile, it is well.