HEALTH BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

FIRST, THE OBVIOUS BENEFITS

Many of us work out or play sports to be better able to manage our weight. We can prevent weight gain or keep off excess weight by physical activity. The more intense the activity, the more calories we can burn. Not only that, but we are able to improve our physiques in the process. Simply adopting a “starvation” diet is a poor choice when it comes to weight control.

Playing an enjoyable sport is an ideal way to control our weight. There are many sports from which we may choose. Mine were basketball and tennis. Since these sports were fun, it never occurred to me that they were modes of fitness.

We can also mold better physiques or figures by exercise, well after we may have put aside team sports. Too much weight loss can be as unattractive as obesity. We need muscles and balance in our bodies. It is not difficult to change our bodies by resistance exercise. We can strengthen our muscles and bones with weights, resistance bands, Bullworker products or even with our own bodyweight – by pushups, squats, lunges or planks. To help avoid weight gain, we can set up a schedule of walks, jogs or runs, depending on our capabilities. I have a treadmill at home and highly recommend this.

LESS OBVIOUS BENEFITS

Drawing from the Mayo Clinic, here are some other important benefits of exercise:

Exercise fights diseases. Physical activity gives a boost to HDL cholestreol, the “good cholesterol”. It also decreases triglycerides, which are unhealthy. We can keep our blood flowing smoothly and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. The following diseases are better able to be prevented or managed:

• Stroke
• Metabolioc syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Many types of cancer
• Arthritis
• Falls

Exercise improves our mood. Physical activity stimulates many brain chemicals that make us happier and more relaxed. A brisk walk or workout may reduce the stress of an otherwise challenging day. Also, an improved body will generally give us greater self esteem.

Exercise will boost our energy. If we exercise regularly, we will see an improvement in our muscle strength and endurance. Oxygen and nutrients are sent to our tissues and our cardiovascular system works more efficiently. With the improvement of our heart and lungs, we are better able to complete daily chores.

Exercise promotes better sleep. Regular physical activity will help us to fall asleep faster and get better and deeper rest. But we must be careful to not exercise before we prepare to sleep. We may be too energized to sleep.

Exercise may improve our sex life. With more energy and more confidence in our physical appearance, we will likely be more romantic. Also, both men and women will generally be more easily aroused as a result of regular exercise.

Exercise has an important social aspect. Physical activity presents a good opportunity to connect with friends and family. We can also choose the activity and find many new friendships. It is not difficult to find others with similar interests.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE TO WE NEED?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends guidelines for healthy adults.

Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activty – or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic per week. We can do combinations of moderate or vigorous exercise as we choose. It is important to spread the activity out over the week and not do it all on one or two days.

It is even better to get in 300 minutes of moderate activity per week if we are attempting weight loss or want to maintain current weight. But even small exercise sessions add up . I like to point out that a 30 minute daily workout represents only 2% of our 24 hour day.

Moderate aerobic exercise may include brisk walking, mowing the lawn, swimming or biking. Vigorous exercises are aerobic dancing, swimming laps, heavy yardwork or running. I would think of singles tennis as vigorous and doubles as moderate.

Strength training. Do strength training for all major muscle groups at least twice each week. Initially, one set per muscle group is okay for general health. We should use a resistance that will tire our muscles after 12-15 reps. We can add more sets and increase the resistance later, as we see the need to reduce the reps.

AMAZON

I am both a customer and an associate of Amazon. As an associate, I use their links within my articles when they are relevant. I may benefit from activity on the links. This is affiliate marketing. See my upper menu – BECOME AN AFFILIATE MARKETER – for information on this business opportunity.

The Amazon links will show pictures, descriptions, prices and suggestions for similar other items. Amazon is known for huge inventories, fair prices and excellent service.

I have found that it is vitally important to track our exercise activty and nutrition. We need to review our progress and make changes as we see fit. I will begin with a few tracking links and then go to equipment suggestions.

Fitness and nutrition tracker – for men or women

Wellness planner – food log, diet planner and more

Smart watch fitness tracker for men

Smart watch fitness tracker for women

Smart weight and body metrics scale

Nordic Track treadmill for home

Resistance bands with handles – for a complete body workout

Loop resistance bands – less than $10

BULLWORKER FITNESS

Bullworker offers high quality workout tools, for isometric or isotonic modes of exercise. I use the Steel Bow and Bow Classic. Bullworkers are great for home workouts or to take when we travel and need a workout plan. Bullworkers don’t take up much space, but provide as tough a workout option as we might want.

See my Bullworker link at the side of my website, Click on the red link for full information on all of their products. I recommend them highly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In my opinion, the key to physical fitness is to simply develop the habit of exercising daily. Habits control everything we do, good or bad. At this point, I couldn’t skip a morning workout even if I tried (assuming I’m not sick).

The workout is an ingrained habit and it happens automatically. Habits are better than motivation in my opinion, since motivation can fluctuate. Habits override lack of motivation.

Please choose a fitness lifestyle. You will never regret it. Leave me any comments or questions in the “Comments” section below.

Let’s stay active!