So you have decided to buckle down and address your expanding waistline, you want to improve your health and fitness so you can play games with your kids in the park or you want to go out on a scenic bike ride with your lovely family on a sunny day.
Let me say right from the get go these are all perfect achievable goals by following a moderate, structured and sensible health and fitness program or class with the guidance of qualified, experienced and knowledgeable fitness guide.
Outdoor exercise or indoor for that matter is a great way to achieve the above with many other great benefits to physical exercise, 5 of which we will look at in a bit more detail now.
To start with I just want to clarify what we mean by exercise in this article so there is no confusion as the health and fitness industry can be a little confusing at times.
Exercise is the movement of the body that requires you to use your muscles and the burning of calories in the production of energy to achieve that movement.
Here we go, this is by no means a complete list but if I had to pick the 5 best benefits to physical exercise we would start with:
1. Exercise makes you smile.
Believe it or not physical exercise actually makes you happier……………
I know crazy you say!!!!!!
However, it has been proven that with the right guidance exercise can reduce feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.
The brain actually produces happy chemicals, well chemicals that make you happy, I am not sure chemicals have feeling but you never know, that reduce feelings of depression, reduce the perception of pain and improves your mood.
2. Exercise can make you feel more energized and give you more energy for your day ahead.
That’s right exercising regularly really does give you more energy.
You say how can that be?
Well, when you follow a regular 6-week exercise programs for instance your heart becomes stronger and your lungs become healthier. With this increase in heart and lung health your body becomes a lot more efficient and therefore requires less energy to perform its daily functions.
In a nutshell your body becomes more efficient performing the same tasks and thus requires less energy. What’s not to love about that.
3. Exercise can help with weight loss .
OK so let’s get this straight from the start, when we are talking weight we are talking Body Fat.
Right now that is cleared up, exercise can increase your metabolic rate.
Oh OK so what is metabolic rate?
I am glad you asked
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate of energy expenditure per unit time by endothermic animals at rest. It is reported in energy units per unit time ranging from watt (joule/second) to ml O 2 /min or joule per hour per kg body mass J/(h·kg). Proper measurement requires a strict set of criteria to be met. Wikipedia
WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH SAY WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know………………
To simplify that basically by following a regular exercise program your body burns more calories while it is resting and as a result reduces more body fat(weight) than if it didn’t.
Phew I am glad we got through that one.
4. Exercise can help reduce your chances of catching chronic disease.
Right then let’s flip that for a second!!!!
LACK of physical exercise can cause a significant INCREASE in the chances of suffering from chronic disease.
When you put it like that it seems to hit home a little more that although physical exercise isn’t at the top of peoples daily to do list, maybe it should start becoming a little more of a priority.
And here is why:
Regular exercise can reduce the risk of
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Many types of cancer
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
Boom if that does motivate you to start a little exercise, check your pulse………….
5. Exercise can improve your sex life.
Yes that’s right folks regular exercise can help you, keep on keeping on with your partner, loved one or significant other.
With the increased heart strength, improved blood flow, increase in muscle strength, flexibility and endurance I am not saying you will turn into the world’s greatest lover however I would put money on your partner appreciating you going the extra mile and doing a little exercise and improving your sex life.
Other side effects in men of exercise was a reduction in erectile dysfunction and an increase in sexual desire and function in women as they got older.
Summary
So there you have it peoples my top 5 benefits of physical exercise. It was not easy to pick just 5 as there are so much more and they are all highly relevant to the health and fitness to your wonderful body and physical and mental well-being.
Regular physical exercise can
- Significantly improve health
- Reduce body fat and risk of chronic diseases
- Increase energy levels
- Improve your mood and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress
- Improve sex life
It is easy for someone to get lost by the sheer volume of information regarding fitness that is circulating and become confused and end up doing nothing. This is something here at Team Thomas we feel passionately about and we will be here to guide you every step of the way in your quest to become a little healthier and fitter so you can enjoy a higher quality of life with your family, friends and loved ones without spending many confusing and frustrating hours trying to find a fitness program that is right for you, wasting your hard-earned money and achieve the results that you desire.
Thanks for reading and stay posted for future articles coming soon with topics including but not limited to
- The effects of physical exercise on mental health
- Where to start if you have never done any physical exercise
- Diet and weight loss
- The benefits of group exercise training
Team Thomas
Jules and Owen
