When most people think of exercise, weight loss usually comes to mind but there are many more benefits of exercise you may not have thought of. Exercise is viewed as something to endure to keep the number on the scale from increasing too far northward. It feels like a chore, a drudgery, a dark cloud on an otherwise sunny day.
But what if exercise was more than that? What if the benefits of exercise far outweighed (no pun intended) all of the negatives the very word itself conjures for many? Well, I’m here to tell you exercise is more than that. It’s a lot more than that and here’s why.
The Physical Benefits of Exercise
- Exercise does aid in weight loss but this is because it increases the amount of muscle mass in your body. The more muscle mass your body contains, the faster your metabolism is, and the more calories you burn…even at rest!
- The mechanics of your body work better overall with an active lifestyle. Greater bone density, increased flexibility, fluid joints, and an increased physical fitness level are a few of the perks. These perks will make it a lot easier to remain independent and continue moving freely each passing year.
- Your heart and lungs are strengthened by exercise. Your lungs increase in capacity and your heart increases in size! Greater lung capacity means more oxygen flowing through your body and a bigger heart increases blood flow, especially to your brain. Increased blood flow to the brain has benefits all on its own, but more on that later.
- Health is improved with regular exercise. Diabetes can be prevented or controlled. Cholesterol is lowered and the risks for cancer or heart and cardiovascular disease are substantially lowered. Exercise can also help you sleep better.
Now maybe you’re thinking you already knew all of this. You’re aware of how great exercise is for your body and your health and yet, this knowledge has done nothing to motivate you into making exercise a regular part of your life.
Perhaps you’re comfortable with the way you look. You feel you can control your weight through healthy eating. You’ve got great genes. You come from slim stock, a family without major health issues, or were born with a fast metabolism. You’re young or just had a physical and passed with flying colors. If any of these are true for you…great! What I’m about to share with you may change your mind about a consistent exercise routine forever.
The Benefits of Exercise Go Beyond Just The Physical Benefits
Exercise is the single most important gift you can give your brain. It changes your brain’s size, makeup, and function so profoundly you will notice its positive effects immediately after just one workout.
During a single workout, there’s an increase of these neurotransmitters in the brain…
- Dopamine-increased motivation
- Serotonin-increased happiness
- Endorphins-increased well-being and pain control
There’s also an increase in this hormone…
- Adrenaline-increased energy
The increase of these chemicals in your brain improves your mood, reaction time, energy, attention and focus immediately after your workout and up to two hours after you’re done. Furthermore, these increases build up over time so you will feel these positive effects more and more frequently over the long term.
Feeling good leads to greater confidence and pride in yourself. Having more energy, feeling less stressed, and overall happier daily will get you hooked on exercise and keep you coming back for more and more of it. But here’s the most profound benefit of exercise. It improves your long-term memory. New brain cells are produced each time you exercise. Think of your brain as a muscle. The more you work out, the stronger your brain gets. Research suggests a strong brain with improved long-term memory creates a protective barrier against the development of Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Now, how’s that for additional benefits of exercise?
Just three to four thirty-minute sessions a week where you get your heart rate up will give you these amazing benefits of exercise. Here’s a chart to help you identify exercise target zones by heart rate ranges.
Wearing a heart monitor of some type will help you keep an eye on your heart rate to make sure it’s increasing and staying in your preferred exercise target zone. Here are a few highly recommended ones from Amazon to help get the job done if you don’t already have one.
No need to exercise at the hard or maximum level. Staying between very light to moderate levels for at least 30 minutes still qualifies as enough aerobic exercise for you to unlock all these great benefits of exercise. No need to join a gym either! Simply going for a walk or bike ride or doing an exercise video in the comfort of your own home are easy ways to get started. Find something you enjoy and stick with it.
Instead of thinking about exercise as something you’re forced to do, think of it as a brain insurance policy. Exercise not only improves your mental health in the present, but it also ensures it for the future. Do yourself a favor, lace up your sneakers, and give your brain the best gift you can today and every day. Your future self will thank you.
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