Your Personal Health

Thames Chase offers opportunities for even the most reticent of exercisers!
You can walk and jog on all the sites open to public access. Several also allow cycling and horse-riding, so there are several different ways of living healthily in Thames Chase.

The current recommendation to maintain a healthy body is half an hour of moderate exercise, five times a week,. "Moderate" means you should be able to maintain a conversation at all times, and not be out of breath. Remember "it doesn’t have to hurt to be healthy"!

This level of "moderate" exercise can give a wide range of health benefits:

• reduced risk of heart attack or stroke
  
• reduced blood pressure
  
• reduced risk of bowel cancer
  
• reduced chance of osteoporosis
  
• improved weight control
  
• improved energy and stamina to do all those other things in life!
  

However, don’t get fixated on lengths and times of exercise, so that you miss
out on all the sights and sounds around you. Any physical activity, no matter
how small, is better than none, so get out into Thames Chase and enjoy a
healthy lifestyle!

(If you do have any concerns at increasing your exercise levels, you should consult your GP before undertaking more strenuous exercise).

As well as physical health benefits, you can also derive mental health benefits from being out and about in Thames Chase. These could include:

• reduced stress
  
• decreased incidence of depression
  
• keeping in touch with the seasons
  
• "mental restoration", where your lateral view of everything around you helps you to relax and make decisions .

You can enjoy these benefits by simply walking, jogging, cycling or riding a horse. But you could also just sit and enjoy the peace and tranquillity around you.
Fishing can also be very therapeutic, and all sites that offer fishing facilities are also highlighted.