k2
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Registered: 11/03/07
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Exercise Benefits
By Jonny Bowden
There's probably no one out there who hasn't gotten the message that
exercise is good for you. But when it comes to the question of how much, how often,
and what results you can expect, the answers are all over the map.
Any physical activity from walking around the mall to running a marathon,
doing Pilates to lifting weights counts as exercise. Ideally, you want to
include both exercise for your heart (running, jogging, stair climbing) and
strength training in your routine. Here are some of the documented benefits of
exercise:
Stronger Bones
Weight bearing exercise (i.e. jogging and walking) helps build bones and
protect against osteoporosis.
Better Mood
Studies have shown that regular exercise has a significant positive effect
on mood and can lift you out of a mild depression. Exercise also helps deliver
oxygen to your brain, keeping neurons healthy and your performance sharp.
Heart Health
Exercise is one of the best ways to protect and strengthen the heart. It
also lowers blood pressure. And exercise is one of the best ways to increase HDL
(the "good", protective cholesterol in the blood).
Diabetes Prevention and Management
Exercise lowers blood sugar and increases the sensitivity of the cells to
insulin, which is a great thing. We want to be insulin sensitive; the opposite
is insulin resistant, which sets us up for diabetes, obesity and metabolic
syndrome.
Better Sleep
Poor sleep is a stressor that increases cortisol, which signals the body to
store fat around the middle. Increased cortisol also leads to muscle
breakdown and causes the body to overproduce insulin.
Exercise is one way to improve sleep. Physical activity tires you out and
makes you more likely to sleep soundly. It also increases feel-good chemicals
in the brain that help you feel good and more relaxed.
Reduced Cancer Risk
Researchers aren't exactly sure how it works, but have found that exercise
can lower the risk of colon, prostate and breast cancer.
Strong Muscles and Joints
People who exercise regularly tend to have stronger joints, less pain and
greater mobility as they age.
Weight Management
The overwhelming majority of people who maintain a healthy weight exercise
regularly.
Exercise and Weight Loss
It's simple: Working out burns calories. To maximize the burn, do interval
training, where you exercise at a high intensity for 30 seconds to a minute
before falling back to a more relaxed pace while your heart calms down. Repeat
for up to 10 times a workout.
For weight loss, strength training is more important than you might think.
Calories are burned by muscle, so the more muscle you have the more calories
(and fat) you burn. Building muscle is the best ally you have in the battle of
the bulge.
Though exercise by itself is probably not the most effective way to lose
weight, it's the most effective way to keep it off. To lose weight, you need to
change your diet (in addition to exercise). But research from the National
Weight Control Registry shows that people who are successful in losing weight
maintain it by exercising at least 30 minutes every day.
To get the benefits from exercise you don't have to spend all your spare
time on a treadmill. Most professionals recommend a goal of at least 30 minutes
a day of some kind of physical activity. With exercise, some is always better
than none.
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K2
http://www.k2k9.com
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