Offers too many healthy perks not to do it!
There are many benefits of regular exercise, and it is one of the topics I am passionate about. Throughout high school, I took dance lessons, and in my twenties, I started lifting weights. I have always exercised and enjoyed its many benefits. I was happy I had developed those habits, especially when I went to physical therapy after being diagnosed with CRPS / RSD. The physical therapist I worked with said that my being in shape was a definite benefit that would assist me in my recovery process. Learning to walk without a limp (which took 5 years) wasn’t a piece of cake, but I believe it was possible because of my good physical shape at the time of my injury.
The Benefits of Regular Exercise
Exercise isn’t just for those who are heavier than they would like. It is something I feel everyone should do! Exercise has so many benefits, I do not understand why you would not want to do it. These benefits range from physical to psychological, to improving your health, and even preventing disease. Below are some of those benefits.
The Physical Benefits of Exercise
- It helps manage your weight.
- It helps you look and feel better.
Hopefully, you have realized by now that with all the diets on the market, people are obsessed with their weight and appearance. To sum it up, the only reason we become heavier than we would like (unless you have a medical condition) is because we eat more calories than we burn off. The best way to lose weight is to cut down on the number of calories you are eating or increase your activity. So let’s get moving and turn your body into a fat-burning machine! As Leslie Sansone would say, “If you want a better body, you’ve got to move your body!” I know this to be true since I exercise with her “Walk at Home” series every morning, and I love her programs!
The Psychological Benefits of Exercise
- It Improves your mood.
- It improves your self-esteem.
- It reduces depression.
- It reduces anxiety and stress.
- It improves your brain power and learning.
- It is FUN and leaves you with a runner’s high.
Exercising for 30 minutes is a great way to blow off tension, especially after a hard day at work. It boosts your levels of soothing brain chemicals like serotonin, so it’s no wonder people who exercise feel better!
The Health Benefits of Regular Exercise
- It helps prevent and combat chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and osteoporosis.
- It can help manage high blood pressure.
- It can help your body produce happy (good) cholesterol HDL.
- It increases your energy levels.
- It promotes better sleep.
- It can spruce up your sex life.
- It can make your heart stronger, reduce heart disease, and increase blood flow.
- Strengthens Bones and Muscles.
Studies have shown that it is never too late to start exercising, and you are not too old to build muscle. Some older individuals between 60 and 79 underwent an aerobic exercise training program. These individuals showed increased brain volume after 6 months, with more gray matter than white matter. Exercising is so beneficial to your health and prevents certain types of cancer that the American Cancer Society recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise five days a week.
What Types of Exercise Should You Do
According to experts, you should perform a variety of exercises, including flexibility or stretching, strength or resistance training, core exercises, and aerobics.
- Flexibility or Stretching is pretty self explanatory and are important to do during your exercise routine as well as during your warm up and cool down.
- Core Exercises are exercises that train the muscles in your pelvis, hips, lower back and abdomen to work together.
- Strength or Resistance Training is performing exercises that use resistance to strengthen and condition the bones and muscles. This type of exercise usually increases muscle size and endurance while increasing bone density.
- Aerobics is doing an activity that uses large muscle groups, like walking, biking, jogging, or swimming. These activities are long in duration yet low in intensity and you should be able to carry on a conversation during these activities promoting the circulation of oxygen to your body.
Each morning, I do a combination of stretching, pilates, weight lifting, and aerobics. It is a great way to start your day! Remember that new and recent research has found that excessive aerobic activity can harm you and your heart, so keep it to 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate aerobic activity and no more than an hour per week of vigorous activities like running.
Where Do You Start
There are so many choices today, leaving us to ask many questions.
- Should I join a gym?
- Should I take exercise classes?
- Should I exercise at home?
- What type of exercises will I like and should I do?
- When am I going to exercise?
I can only share my experiences with you. I went through a year of physical therapy in 1994 with my RSD, and before my accident, I exercised at a gym; after my accident, I exercised at home. Part of it for me was that exercising became difficult and was painful, and the healing process was slow, so I felt more comfortable doing it at home. So I continue to exercise at home. Another challenge was finding out what exercises I liked and could do with my RSD. I love pilates, weight lifting, dancing around the basement, or doing the Leslie Sansone “Walk at Home” DVDs. I also found that the experts are right when they tell you that people who get up early and exercise first thing in the morning (I know who wants to do that) are the most consistent with their exercise programs. I used to do it at night and just this week I started doing it first thing in the morning and I am 4 out of 4. Last week I was 2 out of 5.
No matter what you decide, I highly recommend that you choose an activity that you enjoy. Fun, Sweaty Activities are the most enjoyable! It is also a good idea to assess your fitness level at the beginning and set some personal goals for yourself. You may also want to determine your BMI (Body Mass Index) or Target Heart Rate and measure each before you begin.
As a final note, a study showed that people who spend most of their day sitting down have a much higher mortality rate than those who don’t. Even if you exercise daily, it is a good idea to get up and move around during your workday. Remember, starting an exercise program can sometimes make you sore, especially when you do too much too soon.
References: Mayo Clinic, US Health News, Huffington Post