The following top ten health benefits of a healthy exercise program
motivate you to get out of yourToffice chair and into the gym.
1. Improved Mood
According to scientists , just 30 minutes of mild
to moderate exercise a day, performed five days a week, will act like a
mild anti-depressant. That means even mild exercise, if undertaken five
days a week, can offset mild depression, improving your overall mood.
That alone should get you out there moving your body!
2. Fewer Aches and Pains
You might not realize it, but a lot of your pain (especially back
pain and shoulder pain) is probably related to lack of exercise. If you
learn how to strengthen your core through mild back, abdominal and
oblique muscle exercise, you will notice that your lower back pain will
lessen or even disappear altogether. Likewise, if you strengthen your
upper body and stretch your chest and shoulders through exercise such as
swimming, yoga or weight training, you will notice less pain in your
shoulders and neck.
3. Better Control and Balance
As you exercise, you will inevitably improve your core strength,
since most forms of exercise (even walking) require you to tighten your
core muscles. This will help improve your coordination and balance,
preventing injury and falls.
4. Toned Muscles
Exercise naturally tones muscles and reduces fat to muscle ratios. You’ll like the way you look and feel.
5. Deeper Sleep
People who exercise fall asleep easier, stay asleep longer and report
feeling more rested after sleeping.
6. More Patience
Since exercise is an excellent form of stress management, you’ll find
you feel more relaxed and can exhibit more patience if you exercise
regularly.
7. Healthier Weight
Exercise burns calories, which means regular exercise promotes weight
management. Of course, you’ll have to make sure you don’t increase your
energy intake such that it eclipses the kilojoules you’ve burned each
day, but regular exercise gives you a better shot at maintaining a
health weight than diet alone.
8. Increased Flexibility
When you exercise, you use muscles that otherwise would have been
underutilized by a sedentary lifestyle. Every time you stretch to return
a tennis ball, reach for a basketball shot or extend your arm for a
swim stroke, you are limbering you your muscles and increasing your
flexibility. Just make sure you take the time to warm up and cool down
so you don’t injure those muscles while they are vulnerable!
9. More Confidence
Exercise makes us feel better about
ourselves, increasing our confidence and helping us become more
optimistic. This is because your self-image naturally improves as you invest time into caring for your body through exercise.
10. Relaxed Attitude
Exercise releases endorphins, those feel-good natural chemicals that
help you relax and see the brighter side of life. Just twenty minutes of
exercise a day can help you feel more positive and energized, something
most of us can use these days!
Finding the Right Healthy Exercise Program
Once you get started
on a healthy exercise program, you’ll notice the many benefits that
come along with positive lifestyle changes.
