I don’t know about you all, but I have a massive love/hate relationship with exercise. Actually, it’s more of an I love it once I’ve been exercising for awhile, but I curse myself every time I fall out of the routine and need to ‘re-start’ again relationship with it. Without fail, I’m always questioning myself why I stopped in the first place…well, I ask that question after I get over the initial shock of getting back in shape. I know I’m not the only human out there on this exercise roller coaster either!
Let’s talk about the benefits of exercise and movement for a moment. The most obvious one which everyone knows is it plays an important role in controlling your weight and preventing obesity. To put it simply, to maintain your weight the calories you eat and drink must equal the energy you burn. If what you eat and drink is more calories than you burn, then you will gain weight and in order to lose weight, you must use more calories than you consume.
Exercise helps to reduce your risk of heart diseases. It helps to strengthen your heart (which is a muscle also) and improves your circulation. Exercising increases your blood flow which raises the oxygen levels in your body, therefore helping in the reduction of diseases such as high cholestorel, coronary artery disease and heart attacks. Regular exercise can also help to lower your blood pressure levels and triglycerides.
It’s been found that your body is better able to manage blood sugar and insulin levels with regular exercise. This can help to cut down your risk of type 2 Diabetes and metabolic syndrome. If you already have one of these diseases it can help you to manage them.
Exercise helps improve your mood and mental health. Your body releases chemicals, called endorphins, during exercise that help to boost your mood and feel more relaxed. Have you ever heard the term “runner’s high”? It’s an actual thing, and good news for you, you don’t have to be a runner to experience this mood enhancement from regular exercise. Any type of exercise can help your body to release these chemicals. I know for myself, I’m typically in a better, happier mood once I’ve been doing some type of exercise as opposed to periods of time I don’t do anything at all.
If you want to improve your brain power and health, then regular movement and exercise can do that also! Not only does your body release endorphins to help boost your mood, but during exercise your body is stimulated to release certain proteins and chemicals in your brain that improve it’s structure and function!
I know that I hear concerns from lots of people that as we age we are more susceptible to lose of bone density and muscle atrophy. Research has shown that regular exercise, especially exercise that has any type of weight bearing involved, helps to slow down the loss of bone density as we age. Doing muscle strengthening exercises helps you to maintain your muscle mass and strength. Also, regular movement helps keep your joints healthy and less likely to be prone to arthritis. A lot of people don’t know that our joints are kept healthy by the action of moving. Regular movement as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle, is what helps pump the nourishment into our joint capsules to keep them healthy. I’ll quote my Father’s Doctor on this one, “Motion is lotion for your joints!”.
There are many other benefits to regular exercise that I haven’t mentioned above such as, it can help you live longer, improve your sleep, reduce your risks of falls and even help reduce your risks of certain cancer. I also want to take a moment and point out the fact that when I mention exercise, it doesn’t have to be some hour long intense circuit or weight training, nor do you have to go run 5 miles to reap the benefits that come with it all. You can see all these benefits by just adding any type of regular movement into your life. You can go for regular walks, take a hike through the woods, attend dance classes, yoga classes, play volleyball or soccer, or take a bike ride. The possibilities really are endless.
The biggest thing as you start creating the change of adding in more exercise into your life, is to start with small changes. Park further away from the store so you’re walking a bit more; take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator; walk down the hall to your co-worker’s office instead of sending a text or email; wash your car yourself instead of going to the car-wash. I also encourage you to recruit a friend or family member to join you on this, I know for myself having an exercise buddy/accountability partner definitely improves my daily success of getting some type of exercise in. You don’t have to always do it together, but knowing you have someone to report to will drastically increase the chances you actually do it.
I’ll end with telling you this: I’m not any less human than any of you, and this past fall and winter I completely fell off my routine of exercising, however I’m committed to getting back on track and I hope I’ve inspired you to do the same! I don’t care what you’re adding in to your routine, whether it’s regular walking, dancing, exercise classes or running, I just hope that at least one of the benefits listed above sparks you to get moving!