Why Should You Exercise?
THIS player is neither the answer to Bafana Bafana's goalscoring problems, nor harbors any hopes of being in the national squad for the 2010 World Cup.
But Mmane Koko "Ace" Molopa trains every morning and is now used to playing soccer.
"Before I can do my domestic jobs, I go to training every morning. This helps me to keep my body healthy and fit. I started exercising after my doctor told me that exercising can keep my body super healthy'".
Mmane Koko, Age 66, said if she had been exposed to soccer at an earlier age, she would have become a top South African striker and could have stolen the limelight from Noko Matlou, who plays for Banyana Banyana.
She encourages young people to participate in sports, especially soccer, from an early age and continue even when they are senior citizens.
She added that because soccer is not about exercising only, but also helps one to put bread on the table, it could make a difference socially.
"Soccer is a business and clubs these days pay generously. Therefore if our youth take sports seriously, they can make a living out of it and be healthy. But this can only happen if our government and other stakeholders participate in developing love for the sport and help build the infrastructure to support it for future generations."
It has been established that the elderly are victims of high blood pressure and other diseases because they rarely do what they were doing in the past. These include activities like fetching water and collecting firewood in the mountains.
"Nowadays we hardly ever exercise because we rarely go to the mountain to collect wood or even to fetch water. These days we buy wood from nearby sellers and it is also not safe anymore to ascend the mountain when you are old because there is the danger of being attacked," says Mmane Koko.
Doctor Leonard Maake, from Letaba Hospital, agrees that if senior citizens keep on exercising this could minimize their chances of developing diseases like high blood pressure and sugar diabetes.
So if you want to stay fit, keep on exercising to keep your body healthy.
Written in 2010 by Reginald Makgoba --- South Africa