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Exercise has a mulititude of benefits. Whether you want to feel better, have more energy and even live longer, look no further than old-fashioned exercise.
The benefits of exercise — from preventing chronic health conditions to boosting confidence and self-esteem — are hard to ignore. And the benefits are yours for the taking, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing? Below are specific ways exercise can improve your life.
Exercise can:
Increase your stamina and endurance
This is exciting news! If at the end of the day you find yourself exhausted-too tired to enjoy your family or friends-make exercise a regular part of your life. Once a habit begins to form you will look forward to working out because it will make you look and feel so good.
Reduces stress
Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk is the best tension reliever. It is a very important remedy for stress. Nothing eases stress more than exercise. Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which can leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Exercise even reduces feelings of depression and anxiety. We not only feel stronger and healthier, but also have the ability to deal with everyday stress in our lives in a positive way.
Mentally, exercise provides an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration, anger, and irritability, thereby promoting a more positive mood and outlook. Exercise improves mood by producing positive biochemical changes in the body and brain. Regular exercise reduces the amount of adrenal hormones your body releases in response to stress. Also, with exercise, your body releases greater amounts of endorphins, the powerful, pain-relieving, mood-elevating chemicals in the brain. Depressed people often lack these neurochemicals. Endorphins are natural pain killers and also help lift your mood. The runner's high is a result of the increased endorphins in the body. Exercise, therefore, will keep your body functioning properly and will keep you feeling both relaxed, refreshed and promote deep, restful sleep.
Exercise seems to be a popular 'fix' for stress, this is something that must be approached with caution. For people who have a sedentary job or lifestyle it could work wonders. For the person who is already overworked and physically drained it simply does not make any sense whatsoever to add any additional workload.
Reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke
Worried about heart disease? Regular exercise might be the ticket.
Exercise improves your cardiovascular functions by strengthening and enlarging the heart, causing greater elasticity of the blood vessels, increasing oxygen throughout your body, and lowering your blood levels of fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides. All of this, of course, means less chance of developing heart conditions, strokes, or high blood pressure. This is a very important benefit, since coronary heart disease is recognized as the leading killer in the United States, and nearly half of these deaths occur among women.
Strengthens your immune system
Exercise can actually increase your resistance to stress and illness.
Begin an exercise that you enjoy, Preferably, do something that brings you into contact with other people. The value of such exercise, three times a week for 20 minutes to two hours, can not be over emphasized.
Eases Worry
Exercise has another beneficial effect. Most people, when exercising, do not worry. They are actually resting the nerve cells in the brain that worry, giving those cells time to renew themselves, so they can function normally the next time they are needed. There are other ways of "resting your mind". Dancing, listening to music, reading the bible, scriptural meditation, working on a craft, playing a musical instrument, and relaxation also relieves stress. Any activity which concentrates your attention on a subject other than life's problems will help rest your mind. This allows the brain to renew itself.
Strengthens your bones and joints
This is an added benefit for women, because strong bones and joints can decrease a woman's chance for osteoporosis.
Sitting or lying down continually, our bones get weak and weary. Often when someone says there knees or legs bother them, you can be certain that they are not walking or maintaining a good exercise program. And more often than not, they think arthritius has set in. This happens when one believes they are getting old and those aches and pains are natural. But I can assure you, that is not the truth. Pushing 60, I have not an ache or a pain. Only when I sit too long, then I get up and work it out.
Decreases your appetite
Yes, exercise does help us to eat less. Exercise slows down the movement of food through the digestive system which means you will feel full for longer. Also, sustained exercise takes stored calories out of tissues causing blood sugar levels to remain stable which reduces hunger pangs. Another good reason why exercise is beneficial for weight loss. Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.
Increases the number of calories you burn
By exercising and increasing the number of calories you burn, you will accelerate weight loss and positively influence weight control. Trying to lose weight without a regular exercise program, your efforts will become futile.
Strengthen your heart and lungs
Exercise can help these organs work more efficiently.Exercise is sustained activity involving the major muscle groups, such as swimming, running, or brisk walking. Your heart and respiratory rate increase, and more oxygen is circulated through the body. Exercise strengthens your heart muscle, and a stronger heart will last much longer than a weak heart.
Decreases a woman's risk for breast cancer
Studies have shown that women who engage in exercise at least 3 times a week have a decreased chance of developing breast cancer.
Decreases your resting arterial blood pressure
Exercise lowers your blood pressure.
Improves your blood lipid profile
Exercise lowers your LDL (low-density lipids), or bad cholesterol, while raising your HDL (high-density lipids), or good cholesterol.
Increases your productivity
In his book, The Aerobics Program for Total Well-Being , Kenneth Cooper states that aerobic exercise can improve your intellectual capacity and increase your productivity. According to the article titled "Aging Fitness and Neurocognitive Function" published in the National Library of Medicine, September 2001, more oxygen to the brain means an "increased ability to think and reason." Even brisk walking three times a week for 45 minutes improves circulation and supplies more oxygen to the brain.
Reduces your biological age
Not only are people that exercise more likely to maintain their weight loss, but according to an article by Mark Lander of the Better Health and Medical Network, reports show athletically and nutritionally fit individuals can be as much as 10 to 20 biological years younger than their chronological age. Dr. Alex Leif of the Harvard Medical School goes so far as to say that exercise is the closest thing to an anti-aging pill known ("Turning Back Time" Better Health & Medical Network, February, 1999).
Controlls your blood sugar level
When you exercise, your muscle cells become more efficient at receiving and metabolizing sugar as it enters the blood stream. This decreases the need for insulin to be secreted to keep blood sugar levels down.
When you exercise, or even begin thinking about getting ready to exercise, your body responds by increasing your blood glucose (sugar) levels. This occurs through so called "glucose-sparing pathways" (gluconeogenesis, glycogensis, etc) that occur in the liver and other tissues in the body (your liver is the main organ that stores and
releases glucose).
Okay, so there you are getting ready to work out, or starting to do so, and your body has released all these hormones to cause your liver to increase your blood glucose levels - now what?
Basically, your muscles use glucose as a primary fuel source during exercise - so your blood sugar levels are maintained at a higher level while you are working out until you use up all the stores your liver had available. It is at this point that your body starts burning fats and other fuel sources to keep it going.
Exercise promotes better sleep
Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.
A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And, you guessed it, exercise is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. The timing is up to you — but if you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to try late afternoon workouts. The natural dip in body temperature five to six hours after you exercise might help you fall asleep.
Decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Walking can decrease risks of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes the body's cells are not responding appropriately to insulin that is present in the blood. In a healthy person, insulin signals the cells to let blood sugar in, so it can be used to make energy, or it can be stored. But in someone who has type 2 diabetes, the cells are insensitive to insulin and the sugar remains in the bloodstream for longer periods of time. (Hu, F.B. et al. Walking compared with vigorous physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Journal of the American Medical Association 282: 1433-1437, 1999)
Increases life expectancy
The American Council on Exercise reported that during an 8-year study of 13,000 people, they found that those who walked 30 minutes a day had a significantly lower risk of premature death than those who rarely exercised.
Exercise can be fun
Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical! Exercise doesn't have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find an activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you're moving, it counts!
There's the have at it, so Have At It Today!
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