10 Great Reasons to Exercise Often

It’s easy enough to make excuses about why you haven’t had time to exercise, but what you should be doing is looking at all the reasons ‘for’ working out, not against it. Lynda Smith, Nutritionist, talks about 10 great reasons to exercise regularly…

1. Exercise increases your metabolism. Are you trying to lose weight but finding that even though you are eating well, you just can’t shift those final few kilos? Exercise raises your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) and resistance exercise in particular helps maintain and increase your muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns in a day so it is a win/win situation to exercise.

2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering starvation mode. If you drop your calories too low in an effort to lose weight, you are at risk of losing muscle as well as fat and, as outlined above, less muscle ultimately means less fat burning. It’s far better to have a moderate reduction in daily calories combined with regular exercise to effect fat loss.

3. Exercise helps you keep the weight off long term. Once you have lost the weight, don’t stop exercising! The job is not done. By keeping the good dietary habits you have formed and exercising regularly you will be able to maintain your weight loss.

4. Exercise helps you manage stress. Regular exercise helps lower stress levels. Even though some days it feels like you are stressed to the max, if you make time for exercise you will feel so much more relaxed and energetic afterwards.

5. Exercise increases bone density. Regular resistance (weight) training helps maintain bone mass. Every time you put force on your muscles, you help strengthen your bones as well. If you don’t fancy working out in a gym, simple body weight exercises like press ups, dips, squats and lunges can help maintain your muscle and bone mass.

6. Exercise helps prevent diabetes, control blood sugar, and improve insulin sensitivity. Regular exercise makes your body more sensitive to the hormone insulin, allowing it to push glucose into your cells for energy and preventing your blood sugar levels climbing too high. Controlling blood sugar and insulin levels is essential for fat loss and continued good health.

7. Exercise improves cardiovascular health. Your heart is a muscle and it is strengthened through exercise. Your blood vessels are like hose pipes and exercise increases the amount of blood pumping through those pipes, carrying with it oxygen and essential nutrients. Regular exercise that raises your heart rate will help make your heart, arteries and blood vessels fitter and healthier.

8. Exercise improves mood, helps relieve depression and increases self esteem. When you are feeling down, instead of reaching for a block of chocolate, reach for your sneakers and get outside for some fresh air, you will soon feel much brighter. It’s important to find some form of exercise that you enjoy, so that you will make doing it a habit. Investigate various activities available in your area and give a few a go until you find what you enjoy doing.

9. Exercise increase mobility and quality of life as you get older. Regular exercise and stretching helps with flexibility and balance, the old saying ‘use it or lose it’, really does apply.

10. Make new friends through exercise. Whether it’s joining a gym or taking a group fitness class, going to a pool or pounding the pavements, you are bound to meet new people and make new acquaintances, something we often are missing out on these days with long working hours and not enough leisure time.
How many more reasons do you need to make exercise part of your life?

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