THE MANY BENEFITS OF EXERCISING !
Need some Encouragement to exercise? There are many ways exercise can improve your life. Here is a list of many.
Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Exercise is the key.The benefits of exercise from preventing chronic health conditions to increasing confidence and self-esteem are known facts. The benefits are yours to have, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.
1. Exercise can help to improve your overall mood. 3. Exercise helps you manage your body composition and weight. 4. Exercise will strengthen your heart and lungs. 5. Exercise will help to promote better sleep. 6. Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life. 7. Exercise can be fun. 8. Improves mental acuity/sharpness or performance. 9. Builds and maintains healthy muscles, bones & joints. Benefits of Resistance Training/Strength Training Potentially decreases resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure Positive changes in blood cholesterol
Improved strength, balance, increased bone People who engage in regular aerobic exercise appear to live longer than those who live a sedentary life. Start slowly and progressively work your way up If you have concerns, check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program especially if you have had a long period of inactivity or been sedentary most of your life. Once you have your doctor's medical release, begin slowly. You might walk five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. The next day, add a few minutes to each walking session. Increase the pace a bit, too. Before long you could be walking briskly for up to 30 minutes a day and gaining all the benefits of regular/consistent aerobic exercise. Other methods might include aerobic dancing, swimming, stair climbing, bicycling, jogging, elliptical training or rowing. If you have special considerations due to a physical disability that may put some restrictions on exercise, ask your doctor about alternatives. If you have arthritis, for example, aquatic low impact exercises may give you the benefits of aerobic exercise without stressing your joints. Live longer, have a better quality of life, and be healthier with just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day!
If you need help with some stress-management due to a tough or stressful day, a workout at the gym or some exercise like a brisk 30-minute walk can help you unwind and calm down. Exercise also stimulates various brain chemicals, which may put you in a better state of mind or make you feel happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. Your body composition also looks better and you feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your overall self-esteem. Exercise has been shown to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety. There is even evidence that regular exercise can help with treating clinical depression. Study after Study has shown that exercise promotes mental health and reduces symptoms of depression.
2. Exercise can help to fight off diseases.
If you are concerned about heart disease and you want to help prevent other diesease such as osteoporosis, then regular exercise might be the solution. Regular exercise can help you prevent or manage high blood pressure. Your cholesterol can benefit, too. Regular exercise increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol while decreasing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol. This keeps your blood circulation flowing more efficiently by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries. And there's more. Regular exercise can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and various types of cancer.
This one's a no-brainer or commons sense to some. When you exercise, you burn off calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn and the more efficient you become at keeping your weight under control. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Even better, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk or jog. Consistent dedicated workouts are wonderful, but the activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too. Remember your body is burning calories all the time all day long. So give it some help along the way by finding ways to be more physically active.
If you get winded by grocery shopping or simple household chores, don't be discouraged. Regular exercise can help you breath easier and increase your stamina to help you with the activities of daily living. Exercise delivers more oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels work more efficiently. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. Please see resistance training & aerobic training for the adaptations to the body due to exercise.
Are you one of those people that can't fall asleep? It may help to step up or increase your physical activity during the day. A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. Exercise is sometimes the key to better sleep. Sleep disturbance is also a symptom of some types of depression. Being able to regulate your sleep better can help prevent depression. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. The time you workout is up to you, but if you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to try late afternoon workouts. Workouts later in the day might help you fall asleep easier in the evening.
This is another no-brainer. If you are in better physical shape and condition you will perform better in "all" physical performance activities.
Exercise doesn't have to get too routine in that you do the same things over and over again. Get creative with your methods of getting exercise. Please see "Creative Exercise."
Many studies have proven that people who exercise on a regular basis have better memory, reaction time and concentration than their sedentary lazy counterparts who sit on their ass all day long. They also stand a much better chance of avoiding diseases like Alzheimer’s and senility. And it doesn’t take much: walking for 45 minutes three times a week is enough to improve your degree of mental sharpness. Aerobic activity stimulates the middle-frontal and superior parietal regions of the brain, which are associated with attention and keeping goals in mind. Please see aerobic training adaptations.
As you progressively or developmentally age and get older, your bones lose density (bone mineral mass), your joints may become stiffer and less flexible, and your lean body mass decreases. With regular physical activity especially weight resistance training is one of the best ways to slow or prevent muscle, joint and bone problems. A moderate to vigorous workout program can assist you with maintaining strength and flexibility into your senior years. Weight resistance training has been proven to increase bone density in older adults who have began weight bearing exercises or weight resistance training.
10. New brain cell development, improved cognition and memory. Exercise stimulates the formation of new brain cells. Research has found that the areas of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are responsible for memory and learning. For instance, older adults who engage in regular physical activity have better performances in tests implying decision-making process, memory and problem solving. Many studies have proven that people who exercise on a regular basis have better memory, reaction time and concentration than their sedentary counterparts who have not taken any responsibility for their health by choosing to exercise. They will also have a much better chance of avoiding diseases or complications such as Alzheimer’s and senility related disorders. It doesn’t take much at all: walking for 45 minutes three times a week is enough to improve your degree of mental sharpness. Aerobic activity stimulates the middle-frontal and superior parietal regions of the brain, which are associated with attention and keeping goals in mind. The Frontal Lobe of your brain is responsible for overall executive functioning of behavior. You need this to stay sharp.
Increased muscular strength
Increased strength of tendons and ligaments Potentially
reducing chances for injury.
Reduced body fat and increased lean body mass (muscle mass)
The more lean muscle mass you have the more calories your
body is able to burn. You become a more efficient calorie
burning machine. Helps metabolism.
Improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity
mass/density and functional ability in older
adults and all age groups.
Regular aerobic exercise can:
The overall adaptation to regular aerobic exercise is one that helps to produce a more efficient body, resulting in less effort by all organs at every possible level of exercise or activity.
Improves body composition by burning off fat as fat is used as an energy fuel source in longer duration periods of exercise lasting an hour or more.
Reduce health risks. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises, such as walking, reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises, such as walking, reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Help you manage chronic conditions. Aerobic exercise helps lower high blood pressure, control blood sugar and relieve chronic muscle pain. If you've had a heart attack, aerobic exercise can help prevent subsequent attacks.
Aerobic exercise helps lower high blood pressure, control blood sugar and relieve chronic muscle pain.
Keep excess pounds off. Combined with a healthy diet, aerobic exercise can help you lose weight and keep it off and improve body composition.
Fight off viral illnesses. Aerobic exercise activates your immune system. This leaves you less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu.
Keep your arteries clear. Aerobic exercise increases the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol and decreases the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol in your blood. The potential result? Less buildup of plaques in your arteries.
Strengthen your heart. A stronger heart doesn't need to beat as fast. A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body.
Furthemore, also associated with long term aerobic exercise is a decreased "resting and submaximal exercise heart rate."
Basically your heart doesn't have to work as hard to produce the same effort as someone else who is not in good shape or not conditioned with a higher resting or submaximal heart rate. A stronger heart doesn't need to beat as fast.
A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body.
Boost your mood. Aerobic exercise can ease the gloominess of depression and reduce the tension associated with anxiety, as well as promote relaxation.
Increase your stamina. Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short
term but over the long term, you will enjoy increased stamina and reduced fatigue.
Stay active and independent as you get older. Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older.
Aerobic exercise also keeps your mind sharp. Researchers say that at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week can reduce cognitive decline in older adults.
Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older.
Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older.
