Fitness and nutrition play prominent roles in ensuring both the physical and mental health of human beings. Ignoring proper fitness and nutritional habits can have greater consequences and can gradually lead to extreme health risks such as obesity, diabetes and so on. Nutrition has been given importance as exercise. Consuming the right food at the right times and avoiding unhealthy food is vital to one’s health and training. In order to promote good health and decrease the chances of major health risks, individuals are required to incorporate proper nutritional habits.

The need for nutrition 

As per the opinion of Divya (2018), the body of human beings was designed for movement and it works as a vehicle. It is necessary for people to fuel this vehicle by consuming a balanced diet on a regular basis. The human body requires sufficient carbohydrates which provide energy to the body. In times of lack of carbohydrates proteins and fats can be broken down to energize the human body. At the basic level, the right amount of nutrition is essential for people doing physical training as it provides the source of energy required to perform training. The Food consumed by people influenced their performance, training, recovery, and strength.

Nutrition of training activities 

Meals eaten after or before training are regarded as the most important in training however, one has to be careful with the food that is put into the body. As the fundamental rule, people involved in regular physical training need to eat about two hours before beginning their exercising and meals need to be rich in carbohydrates, low in protein and low in fat. For people undertaking physical training on a regular basis, protein is necessary to aid muscle repairing and growth (Lilić et al. 2019). Whereas, carbohydrates are considered as the main source of energy for them that power and energize the training regime. At the end of the training, individuals are required to substitute the carbohydrates they have lost and need to ensure proper recovery of muscles adding protein in the post-training meal.

Necessity of nutrition

It has been observed that in the UK, adults need to consume on average 4.2 portions of vegetables and fruit whereas, teenagers need to intake 2.7 portions and 65 to 70 years old need to intake 4.3 portions per day (gov.uk, 2020). The overall benefits of consuming nutritional food are numerous as a healthy diet is effective in promoting healthy physical outcomes, maintaining a healthy body, and reducing the risk of chronic disease. Thus, nutritional intake is hugely required for promoting the wellbeing and health of individuals.

Nutrition is undeniably a major factor in the success of performance and training as fuel is required to power the human engine. However, the nutrition value of food majorly relies on the time, type, and amount of nutritional intake. Proper nutritional intake plays a significant role in the mental and physical success of human beings. Nutritional intake also impacts the recovery from training, adaptation to training, and overall performance.

Nowadays people are more focused on their appearance and health than ever before. Some people are ruled by standards of beauty while others are willing to improve their overall health and feel better. Yoga and Stretching are different forms of exercise that not only help people in maintaining physical health but also help in keeping mental health. However, people often do not understand the different impacts of these exercises on their bodies. Irrespective having common features stretching and yoga are two different kinds of workout routines (Follador et al. 2019).

Yoga and Stretching: Both the winners for health 

According to Divya (2018) doing Yoga and stretching offers several benefits for the mind, spirit, body, and overall well-being. The goal of yoga is the unity of the spirit, mind, and body with the major focus on meditation, breathing, and posture. There are numerous forms of both these exercises that meet the needs of varying personalities, lifestyles, and age groups. Studies have indicated that weight control and loss which have become priorities for people these days are possible with regular yoga and stretching practices. It has been reported that in the UK, up to 460,000 people are joining yoga classes each week (Finder, 2020).

Both routines ensure mental peace along with physical health and are effective in improving mindfulness abilities; increasing cardio health, flexibility, and strength, and reducing anxiety. Both the routines need proper breathing however there are slight differences. In Yoga, breathing is considered crucial as in some yoga techniques the subject of concentration relies on breathing. However, in stretching proper breathing is required for avoiding holding breath during other workout routines thus, helps in improving the effect.

Fitness level 

People belonging to every age group can practice stretching and yoga and these fitness routines provide ample health benefits to them. Yoga is effective in creating different fitness levels and to perform some of the yoga forms one needs to spend years preparing one body. It is majorly required for acquiring the necessary level of strength, balance, and openness. On the other hand, if one’s body is not flexible enough for doing yoga they can opt for stretching as it will bring the same benefits as yoga.

Goals of training 

The benefits of each exercise lie in people’s selections of techniques according to their goals. Yoga is more effective for those people who aim to improve their mental health, balance, and fitness level. On the other hand, people should opt for stretching if they are willing to recover after injury, relax their muscles and improve themselves in other workouts.

In conclusion, both yoga and stretching are winners of mental and physical health. Both these techniques are advantageous to the human body. They are both different and similar and it is hard for people to determine which one is more beneficial. The benefits and success of both exercises depend on the goal of individuals performing them. However, whatever routine people opt for it is majorly important for them to take care of their health and to their limits. Before starting stretching or yoga one needs to consult with a qualified health instructor or health professional to stay healthy and to avoid unwanted injuries.