Reasons why you must Workout
First things first, what is exercising?
There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, jogging, walking, and dancing, to name a few. Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. It may even help you live longer .
Here are some ways regular exercise benefits your body and brain:
1. Exercise can make you feel happier
Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress.
It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity to the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression.
Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.
Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how intense your workout is. It seems that exercise can benefit your mood no matter the intensity of the physical activity.
In fact, in a study in 24 women diagnosed with depression, exercise of any intensity significantly decreased feelings of depression.
The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that choosing to exercise (or not) even makes a difference over short periods of time.
One review of 19 studies found that active people who stopped exercising regularly experienced significant increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, even after only a few weeks.
2. Exercise is good for your muscles and bones
Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones.
Activities like weightlifting can stimulate muscle building when paired with adequate protein intake.
This is because exercise helps release hormones that promote your muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids. This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown.
As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and function, which can lead to an increased risk of injury. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age.
Exercise also helps build bone density when you’re younger, in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life.
Some research suggests that high impact exercise (such as gymnastics or running) or odd impact sports (such as soccer and basketball) may help promote a higher bone density than no impact sports like swimming and cycling.
3. Exercise can increase your energy levels
Exercise can be a real energy booster for many people, including those with various medical conditions.
One older study found that 6 weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of fatigue for 36 people who had reported persistent fatigue.
And let’s not forget the fantastic heart and lung health benefits of exercise. Aerobic exercise boosts the cardiovascular system and improves lung health, which can significantly help with energy levels.
As you move more, your heart pumps more blood, delivering more oxygen to your working muscles. With regular exercise, your heart becomes more efficient and adept at moving oxygen into your blood, making your muscles more efficient.
Over time, this aerobic training results in less demand on your lungs, and it requires less energy to perform the same activities — one of the reasons you’re less likely to get short of breath during vigorous activity.
Additionally, exercise has been shown to increase energy levels in people with other conditions, such as cancer.
4. Exercise can reduce your risk of chronic disease
Lack of regular physical activity is a primary cause of chronic disease.
Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, heart health, and body composition. It can also decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
More specifically, exercise can help reduce or prevent the following chronic health conditions.
Type 2 diabetes. Regular aerobic exercise may delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. It also has considerable health benefits for people with type 1 diabetes. Resistance training for type 2 diabetes includes improvements in fat mass, blood pressure, lean body mass, insulin resistance, and glycemic control.
- Heart disease. Exercise reduces cardiovascular risk factors and is also a therapeutic treatment for people with cardiovascular disease.
- Many types of cancer. Exercise can help reduce the risk of several cancers, including breast, colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, lung, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, thyroid, gastric, and esophageal cancer.
- High cholesterol. Regular moderate intensity physical activity can increase HDL (good) cholesterol while maintaining or offsetting increases in LDL (bad) cholesterol. Research supports the theory that high intensity aerobic activity is needed to lower LDL levels.
- Hypertension: Participating in regular aerobic exercise can lower resting systolic BP 5–7 mmHG among people with hypertension.
In contrast, a lack of regular exercise — even in the short term — can lead to significant increases in belly fat, which may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
That’s why regular physical activity is recommended to reduce belly fat and decrease the risk of developing these conditions.
5. Exercise can help with weight loss
Some studies have shown that inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity.
To understand the effect of exercise on weight reduction, it is important to understand the relationship between exercise and energy expenditure (spending).
Your body spends energy in three ways:
- digesting food
- exercising
- maintaining body functions, like your heartbeat and breathing
While dieting, a reduced calorie intake will lower your metabolic rate, which can temporarily delay weight loss. On the contrary, regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which can burn more calories to help you lose weight .
Additionally, studies have shown that combining aerobic exercise with resistance training can maximize fat loss and muscle mass maintenance, which is essential for keeping the weight off and maintaining lean muscle mass.
Can anyone exercise?
Everyone can benefit from physical activity. For most people, it is possible to begin exercising on your own at a slow pace. If you have never exercised before, start with a 10-minute period of light exercise. A brisk walk every day is a good first exercise. Slowly increase how hard you exercise and for how long.
Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. This is especially important if your doctor is already monitoring you for a health problem, such as heart disease or osteoarthritis. You should try to exercise even if you have a physical disability that limits movement. Your doctor can help you find other exercises to improve your overall health.
How much exercise do I need?
A good goal is to exercise 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. However, most people need to start gradually. Start by exercising 2 or 3 times a week for 20 minutes at a time. Once you feel comfortable, slowly increase the amount of time and the number of days a week that you exercise.
How hard do I have to exercise to gain health benefits?
Even small amounts of exercise are better than none at all. Start with an activity you enjoy and can do comfortably. Learn to take your pulse and calculate your target heart rate (about 80% of your “maximum heart rate”). As you become used to exercising, try to exercise within your target heart rate zone so that you get the most benefit. However, discuss with your doctor before beginning. Exercising at 80% of your target heart rate may not be appropriate for everyone. This is especially true if you have certain health conditions or are taking some medications.
To take your pulse, gently rest 2 fingers on the side of your neck, about halfway between your ear and your chin. Count the beats for 10 seconds. Multiply this number by 6 to get the number of beats per minute. For example, if you are sitting still and count 12 beats over 10 seconds, multiply 12 x 6 to get 72 beats per minute.
To figure out your target heart rate, subtract your age (in years) from 220. This is your maximum heart rate. To calculate your target heart rate, multiply that number by 0.80.
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