Exercising regularly is a must, if you want to get the best from life. From controlling weight to preventing disease and regulating mood among other things, exercise brings a lot to the table.
Let’s take a look at the five top reasons why you need regular exercise to stay healthy.
1. Prevents Disease
Regular exercise has been shown to prevent all sorts of diseases. Heart disease is a major problem that can be prevented through exercising. Working out can lower blood pressure, meaning your heart does not have to work as hard. It also lowers cholesterol, reducing the chances of atherosclerosis and the issues that come with that disease.
Besides working to combat heart disease, exercise can also work to curtail diabetes and certain types of cancer. Specifically, exercise is believed to reduce the chances of breast cancer in women and colon cancer in men. An added bonus is that regular exercise has also been determined to boost the immune system. Get out of here winter colds and flu!
2. Weight Control and Maintenance
Exercising regularly will ensure you are burning calories on the regular. When you burn calories, you are also burning fat. Therefore, with regular exercise you will be able to lose weight, as well as maintain a healthy body weight once you reach your goal. Hitting the gym down the road or even doing a workout at home can also boost your metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more calories your body is able to burn at rest!
The best news of all? The more calories your body is able to burn while exercising and post-workout, the more food you can eat. Remember, it is vital that you do not starve yourself ever. While starving yourself can help you lose weight in the short-term, it will not promote sustained weight loss over time.
Eating right and exercising is the only method to lose pounds and control weight successfully.
3. Strengthens Bones
Exercising regularly can also make your bones stronger. While aerobic exercise can function to burn calories and reduce body weight, doing weight bearing activities is vital to ensure strong bones. These weight-bearing activities can be either high or low impact. Strengthening the bones is especially important for older individuals who experience a loss in bone density as they age.
Weight lifting, using exercise bands, or using weight machines even just two or three days a week can have very positive effects on bone density. Strong bones also correlates to fewer chances for bone fractures and breaks. And you thought milk was the only option…
4. Regulates Mood
Many individuals do not realize that exercising regularly also works to regulate their mood. According to WebMD, exercise can fight off feelings of depression and anxiety. Studies have actually shown that exercise can improve the mood of those already suffering from mild to moderate depression. Self-esteem can also be increased immensely. When an individual exercises, their body releases endorphins. These endorphins trigger an overall positive feeling in the body and some individuals claim that they endure what they call a “runner’s high” after running or exercising.
It really is a great feeling. Feelings of stress can also be reduced with regular exercise. Talk about a win-win situation: Exercising regularly means you can start to have a more positive outlook on life, feel better about yourself, and look better.
5. Makes Daily Activities Easier
Regular exercise will make activities of daily living easier as well. Whether you’re 24 or 93 years old, regular exercise can make everything simpler (besides maybe computing inferential statistics!) Walking up the stairs without getting winded can be possible and doing work on lawn can become less physically taxing. Feel like picking up your child is getting more and more difficult? It is nothing a little exercise cannot fix.
Because regular exercise makes you stronger and leaner, tasks will be done with much more ease. Exercising regularly can also help us sleep more soundly at night. Sleeping better at night will lead to more energy the next day and the ability to exercise more efficiently. It all comes full circle!
Exercising regularly certainly has its advantages. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the benefits of regular exercise far outweigh the risks. Now, it is time to get motivated…you need regular exercise!