As a Personal Trainer I am deeply passionate about healthy living and the importance of looking after ourselves. So this article is just a quick overview on our society and the way we live today to help you understand how we should really live.

Since becoming a personal trainer over ten years ago I have strived to learn more about the human body and how it functions. Despite my 10 years of study, research, analysis and application I have learnt that we still do not have a full understanding of the human body. But we do have a good picture of what causes damage to us. So let's take a basic look at a couple of the bodies vital functions and compare this with the way we live today:

The skeletal system - from close examination of our bones and muscles, we now know that the human body is, by design, made for movement. So with this understanding lets see what the average person in the UK does on a daily basis.. The majority of the UK population have desk bound office jobs, so we spend 8 hours a day sitting down. We are also sitting down when we go home, whether we are in our car, bus or train.

Then we arrive at home sit and watch the television, eat our dinner and go to bed and repeat day after day. Is it any wonder that our bodies become weaker and more likely to sustain more injuries by simple tasks such as picking up an object from the floor.?! Without the movement we are designed to do, the muscles and bones lack blood flow containing all the vital nutrients and we slowly deteriorate over the years.

The Liver - The following are some of the functions of this fantastic organ:

1. Controls the levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood 2. Neutralises drugs and toxins 3. Clears the blood of particles including infection and bacteria.

There are many more vital functions of the liver (too many for this article). Looking at these functions and the way we are living today, the liver has a pretty huge task.. We eat nothing but bad quality food, take away or convenience foods and that's form as early as 13 years of age. Alcohol, for many, on a daily basis and smoking for many places a huge demand on the liver from such an early age.

Thus when we get to the age of 40 the liver is waving the white flag and is not interested in losing weight or fighting as many infections and toxins and we say the magic words "I cant do that anymore, I'm too old" or, is it more like, you have abused your body for so long it will no longer allow it?! From looking at this you can easily understand why someone dies of heart attack every 6 minutes.

From these two basic functions it is quite clear to see that the way we live today is going against what we were originally intended to do. The digital age is truly an amazing era however it comes with devastating consequences.

To conclude, it's quite simple, move your body and exercise every day (this does not mean vigorous exercise). Eat good quality meat, fruit and vegetables and not take away or convenience foods. Stop smoking and reduce the amount of alcohol you consume, if you must drink, then for special occasions only (and just because it's the weekend doesn't mean a special occasion).

For more information or if you need advice or support on this article please visit our website.

Good luck!

Lewis Bailey is a highly experienced and qualified personal trainer helping many individuals with numerous health problems and fitness goals. Regardless of the individuals circumstances he can help every person he sees through utilising a holistic approach to training clients. For more information visit www.elitefitnessconsultants.co.uk