people exercising with weights

The Many Health Benefits of Regular Exercise

ByMara Gerke Last Updated

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 enjoyed exercising and have reaped the benefits of regular exercise. 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 being in shape was a definite benefit that would assist me in my recovery. 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.

If you’re over 40, regular movement becomes even more important because everything seems to naturally change as we age. Benefits of regular exercise include supporting a healthy metabolism, maintaining muscle mass, improving energy levels, and reducing inflammation.

The Benefits of Regular Exercise

Exercise isn’t just for those who are heavier than they would like to be. It’s part of healthy living, one of the most important habits for creating small daily habits that can make a big difference, and something I feel everyone should do! The benefits of regular exercise are many. 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 Regular Exercise

  • It helps manage your weight.
  • It helps you look and feel better.
  • It supports gut health and metabolic health.
benefits of regular exercise

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, weight gain can result from many factors, including changes in metabolism, hormones, and daily habits. Movement plays an important role in helping your body maintain balance.

The best way to lose weight is to cut down on the number of calories you are eating, increase your activity, or improve your gut health. 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 Regular 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. The benefits of regular exercise can boost 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 strengthen your heart, reduce your risk of 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 the ages of 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.

Regular movement doesn’t just support your muscles and heart; it also helps improve digestion, balance blood sugar, and support overall metabolic health.

What Types of Exercise Should You Do

According to experts, you should perform a variety of exercises, including flexibility (stretching), strength or resistance training, core exercises, and aerobics.

little girl exercising with a ball at the gym
  • Flexibility or Stretching is pretty self-explanatory and is 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.
  • Aerobic exercise is 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 them, promoting the circulation of oxygen throughout your body.

Each morning, I do a combination of stretching, pilates, weight lifting, and aerobics to achieve the many benefits of regular exercise. 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 options today, and it can feel overwhelming trying to decide where to start.

  • Should I join a gym?
  • Should I take exercise classes?
  • Should I exercise at home?
  • What types of exercises will I like, and should I do them?
  • 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 choosing an activity you enjoy. Fun, Sweaty Activities are the most enjoyable! It is also a good idea to assess your fitness level at the start and set personal goals. You may also want to determine your BMI (Body Mass Index) or Target Heart Rate and measure each before you begin.

Remember, you don’t need to do everything at once. Starting with one or two simple habits can help you build a routine that feels natural and sustainable.

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.

Continue Learning

References: Mayo Clinic, US Health News, Huffington Post

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