Why Is Regular Exercise so Important?

Your Well being, Health and Stamina

What do cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer have in common?

They’re all diseases whose risk of development you can reduce by improving your health through physical exercise and exertion. You can start seeing changes from just 30 minutes of exercise each day. Benefits of regular exercise can be both immediate and long-term. The best benefit of all is the improvements regular exercise can make to your quality of life.

Benefits and Bonuses

Of course, the amount of exercise you should be getting varies depending on your age. For example, it’s recommended that teenagers get at least an hour of mild to vigorous physical exercise daily. Reasons for meeting your recommended daily amount of exercise include…

Improved mental health

Feel-good chemicals can be created in the brain after exercise. Those with low self esteem or mild depression may find this especially effective. You may feel the benefit of a sense of accomplishment after ongoing training, when you make yourself proud by beating your old personal records or just surprising yourself about how long you can stick to the program. Better sleep can also come as a result of exercise.

Age gracefully

Your body will thank you later, however premature it may feel to think about this now. As people get older, for example, weakening bones (a condition called osteoporosis) can become an issue. You can help keep your bones strong by participating in weight-bearing exercises like jogging, brisk walking or jumping.

You feel good, you look good

If you’re feeling a little self-conscious about your body, don’t go on a crash diet! Regular exercise is a healthy way to get toned, burn calories and stay at a healthy weight.

Try to keep in mind the three parts of a balanced exercise routine: Strength, cardio and flexibility.

Weighing Up Your Options

Maintaining weight loss and preventing excess weight gain can be made easier by regular exercise. You burn calories when you’re physically active. You burn more calories the more intense your workout gets.

Don’t stress if you can’t find a large chunk of time to dedicate to exercise every day (though frequent trips to the gym do make a big difference). Rev up your household chores, increase your walking speed. Reap the benefits of exercise by just increasing your activity levels a little throughout the day.

Boost Your Energy Levels

It may seem strange when you think about how tired you feel after a run, but regular exercise really does increase your energy levels. Your muscles get greater access to nutrients and oxygen because exercise boosts the efficiency and power of your cardiovascular system. The fun stuff in life will become much easier to do when you have more energy to do it!

Putting It in Numbers

It’s easy to say that exercise is good for you, but what does that actually mean?

Well, those who exercise regularly are…

❖    Up to 35% less likely to have a stroke or coronary heart disease;

❖    Up to 50% less likely to develop colon cancer;

❖    30% less likely to die young;

❖    Up to 68% less likely to fracture their hips;

❖    Up to 30% less likely to suffer from depression;

❖    Up to 30% less likely to develop dementia;

❖    30% less likely to fall and injure themselves in old age;

❖    Up to 83% less likely to develop osteoarthritis;

❖    Up to 20% less likely to develop breast cancer;

❖    Up to 50% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

When you put it like that, it’s pretty simple, so come to class and get moving!