The Health Benefits of Regular Exercise

The Health Benefits of Regular Exercise

Despite the fact that I have, what I refer to as exercise phobia, I do recognise the benefits and importance of taking some regular form of exercise. If I am to be brutally honest keeping healthy does not come naturally to me, so although I believe in good nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle, it does take some effort on my part.

I have managed to conquer the healthy nutrition side of things however, the exercise bit is still an uphill struggle but I am getting there. I recently did some reading up on exactly how exercise is of benefit to my body and was quite motivated by my findings which I have outlined in this article for others like me, who would exercise when they have the time. You know who you are and if you are anything like me, you can always find something that needs to be done before you get to the exercise bit.

Anyway, some facts that I learned from my research which have actually managed to get me to take action in this department are quite interesting and hopefully they will help to activate anyone who has an exercise phobia type view on the subject.

Apparently we were designed for action, back at the dawn of time, in order that we could hunt and gather food to feed ourselves, however as the centuries have gone by we have slowly and surely lost this need, well it doesn't take much effort to walk around a supermarket does it? And of course, there is always the option of shopping online and getting it delivered to your front door.

In our 21st century lifestyle we have everything on tap and as a result we live very sedentary lives, which is why being overweight is practically an epidemic in the Western world.

However, because our bodies were designed for action, the 21st century sedentary lifestyle is in direct conflict with our body’s natural design and if we do not take regular exercise we run the risk of serious ill health. For instance a long term lack of exercise can result in a higher than average risk of contracting heart disease, then there is the added issues of poor circulation, shallow breathing thereby reducing our intake of oxygen, it can also affect bone density increasing the potential for osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.

However, even taking gentle regular exercise such as walking can greatly improve our health and increase our chances of remaining healthy even into our very senior years. The benefits of exercise cannot be ignored if we want to have good health and that is a fact.

A regular exercise regime undertaken three to four times a week tones and conditions our muscles, stabilises our joints and is good for our cartilage, ligaments and bones. Exercise also has a positive impact on our mental health, as after an exercise session our body releases endorphins which make us feel really great.

Further benefits to be gained from regular exercise include weight maintenance, loss of excess body fat, helps to shift and prevent cellulite and last but not least, and this was the information that really motivated me, exercise can assist in holding back the aging process.

To conclude, the benefits to be achieved from committing to a regular exercise program is worth the effort as you will soon start to feel the effects as your body will become more supple, your strength and stamina will improve and your outlook will become positive and confident.

I hope these few facts that I have passed on as a result of my research into the subject of exercise will encourage you to start your own exercise routine soon, remember it helps to hold back the aging process, what more motivation could you possibly need.