In the 1980's, a comprehensive health study of gym-goers who were over 60 years of age was conducted in France. The sample included more than 76,600 people. The unexpected finding was the lack of positive impact of sport on their physical condition. The reason was insufficient exertion, or load.

At the same time, it is known that many people who frequently fall ill either remain healthy or fall ill half or one third as much after commencing systematic and active physical exercises or engage in conditioning the whole body.

However, it is no secret that systematic exercises may lead to negative as well as positive health effects. Thus, three quarters of all swimmers and hikers regularly catch colds. Almost half of highly qualified athletes regularly catch colds no matter what kinds of sports they practice and where they do it—indoors, outdoors or in the swimming-pool. It has been found out that the more qualified an athlete is, the greater the risk that he or she will catch a cold or a more serious illness, and the longer it takes to recover.

This is why one of the most important problems in practicing sport is the choice of an optimal load, which should be neither too light, nor too heavy.

How to decide on an optimal level? First of all, an optimal level is to be determined individually. It depends on the resources and capabilities of a person, his or her living conditions. Planning the level on one's own does not, as a rule, take into account all relevant factors. The search for an optimal level is made by trial and error, which delays the achievement of the desired result. In fact, most of the methods of selecting a level of exertion do not take into account all factors and, therefore, are not satisfactory.

Presently, the only method for the optimal load selection is the evaluation of the functional body-state. Physical loads planning with the help of the ORTO Expert complex makes it possible to take into consideration individual body characteristics and achieve maximum health effect. The body-state analysis allows loads determination taking into account the deterioration or improvement of the body's capabilities. This is the shortest way to improve health and achieve psychological and emotional comfort.