1. lowers your risk of heart disease
did you know that heart attacks and heart disease are the number one killer in america? obesity is becoming more and more prevalent due to an increase in the quick and easy food fix, also known as fast food restaurants. heart disease is rated as most deadly due to the fact it creeps up on you without any warning, earning another label as "the silent killer."
regular exercise decreases the bad cholesterol, LDL's, and increases the good cholesterol, HDL's. a high LDL cholesterol and a low HDL cholesterol is a recipe for a heart attack.
2. decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes
back in the day, type 2 diabetes used to be considered adult onset diabetes.due to the current trends, type 2 diabetes is now becoming a very big problem in adolescents. it is defined as
having an elevated blood sugar is mainly caused from your pancreas not producing enough insulin or being resistant to the effects of insulin. insulin is the main hormone telling your body to absorb blood sugars. if your body doesn't produce enough insulin or is resistant to insulin,your prevalence for type 2 diabetes increases due to a higher amount of sugars floating around in your system.
exercising, both resistance training and cardiovascular training, increases the number of glucose receptors on your cells. in doing so, your body can absorb glucose more effectively from the blood stream. it also helps your pancreas to produce more insulin and makes your body more sensitive to insulin.
3. reduces stress and anxiety
americans are constantly on the go. society tells us we need to always be going, doing, seeing, and working in order to make it to the top. taking 30 minutes out of the day to slow down, take a deep breath, and exercise those muscles can drastically decrease stress and anxiety levels.
according to the research article effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: a unifying theory, "aerobic exercise training has antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and protects against harmful consequences of stress."
plus, who wouldn't like to get some fresh air and sunshine on a daily basis??
4. helps lower your risk for metabolic syndrome
what is metabolic syndrome?
according to mayoclinic.org, it is defined as "a cluster of conditions - increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels - that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes."
in other words, metabolic syndrome is a sure fire way to end up with a cardiovascular disease and exercise is a simple fix to reduce your risk!
5. you get to look and feel good
no real explanation needed here! exercise boosts those feel good hormone, which in turn helps you feel better about yourself!
6. it can add years to your life
a recent study has shown that overweight people who were active for 150 minutes a week, lived an average of 3.9 years longer than those who were overweight and inactive.
what happens if you exercise more than 150 minutes a week? you live even longer! not only do you get to live longer, you get to live a life that is healthier. the same study showed that an average of 450 minutes of weekly, moderate activity increased the life expectancy by 4.5 years.
what if you're not overweight? 150 minutes of moderate activity per week can increase your life by 7.5 years! in other words, exercise can extend your life, regardless of what your weight is.
(study was published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) Medicine)
7. don't think you have the money for a gym membership? exercise can actually save you some dough!
a Fortune 500 company did some digging and found out that a gym membership can actually save you money. you may be asking yourself, "how is that possible?" good question. the answer? healthcare costs. all the digging the company did revealed that for every dollar spent on preventative measures, like exercise, saved you an average of $2.71 in health costs. in other words, the $30 a month gym membership can actually put $81.30 back in your wallet.
8. your day to day life gets easier
ever returned from the grocery store with 10 bags of stuff only to remember you live on the 4th floor with no elevator? your daily exercise regime at the gym could reduce the 4 trips it would take to carry all that toilet paper and orange juice up the 4 flights of stairs to one or two trips.
a friend of mine told me a story the other day about how she had a can of pickles expire because she couldn't open the can and lived by herself. don't be the person with expired and unopened jars in the cabinet and get your weight lifting on!
9. it manages chronic pain
wait, what? doesn't exercising hurt? nope! all those aches and pains you feel first thing in the morning can actually be decreased by increasing your weekly exercise minutes.
Amy M. Burleson from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation did a recent study on exercise and chronic pain called modest exercise helps chronic pain patients. the study showed patients felt much better and had reduced their perceived level of daily aches and pains in just three short weeks of exercising.
10. it's a self esteem booster
having a bad day? feeling down about yourself? a quick 20 minutes of exercise can make you instantly feel better.
according to a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine (volume 20, issue 1, pg. 67-83), a 20-week exercise program resulted in improvements of self-esteem. "Significant improvements in self-esteem at all levels were discovered with global esteem, physical self-worth, and perceptions of physical condition and attractive body increasing."
not sold on exercising yet? try it for yourself and see watch what happens!
having an elevated blood sugar is mainly caused from your pancreas not producing enough insulin or being resistant to the effects of insulin. insulin is the main hormone telling your body to absorb blood sugars. if your body doesn't produce enough insulin or is resistant to insulin,your prevalence for type 2 diabetes increases due to a higher amount of sugars floating around in your system.
exercising, both resistance training and cardiovascular training, increases the number of glucose receptors on your cells. in doing so, your body can absorb glucose more effectively from the blood stream. it also helps your pancreas to produce more insulin and makes your body more sensitive to insulin.
3. reduces stress and anxiety
americans are constantly on the go. society tells us we need to always be going, doing, seeing, and working in order to make it to the top. taking 30 minutes out of the day to slow down, take a deep breath, and exercise those muscles can drastically decrease stress and anxiety levels.
according to the research article effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: a unifying theory, "aerobic exercise training has antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and protects against harmful consequences of stress."
plus, who wouldn't like to get some fresh air and sunshine on a daily basis??
4. helps lower your risk for metabolic syndrome
what is metabolic syndrome?
according to mayoclinic.org, it is defined as "a cluster of conditions - increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels - that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes."
in other words, metabolic syndrome is a sure fire way to end up with a cardiovascular disease and exercise is a simple fix to reduce your risk!
5. you get to look and feel good
no real explanation needed here! exercise boosts those feel good hormone, which in turn helps you feel better about yourself!
6. it can add years to your life
a recent study has shown that overweight people who were active for 150 minutes a week, lived an average of 3.9 years longer than those who were overweight and inactive.
what happens if you exercise more than 150 minutes a week? you live even longer! not only do you get to live longer, you get to live a life that is healthier. the same study showed that an average of 450 minutes of weekly, moderate activity increased the life expectancy by 4.5 years.
what if you're not overweight? 150 minutes of moderate activity per week can increase your life by 7.5 years! in other words, exercise can extend your life, regardless of what your weight is.
(study was published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) Medicine)
7. don't think you have the money for a gym membership? exercise can actually save you some dough!
a Fortune 500 company did some digging and found out that a gym membership can actually save you money. you may be asking yourself, "how is that possible?" good question. the answer? healthcare costs. all the digging the company did revealed that for every dollar spent on preventative measures, like exercise, saved you an average of $2.71 in health costs. in other words, the $30 a month gym membership can actually put $81.30 back in your wallet.
8. your day to day life gets easier
ever returned from the grocery store with 10 bags of stuff only to remember you live on the 4th floor with no elevator? your daily exercise regime at the gym could reduce the 4 trips it would take to carry all that toilet paper and orange juice up the 4 flights of stairs to one or two trips.
a friend of mine told me a story the other day about how she had a can of pickles expire because she couldn't open the can and lived by herself. don't be the person with expired and unopened jars in the cabinet and get your weight lifting on!
9. it manages chronic pain
wait, what? doesn't exercising hurt? nope! all those aches and pains you feel first thing in the morning can actually be decreased by increasing your weekly exercise minutes.
Amy M. Burleson from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation did a recent study on exercise and chronic pain called modest exercise helps chronic pain patients. the study showed patients felt much better and had reduced their perceived level of daily aches and pains in just three short weeks of exercising.
10. it's a self esteem booster
having a bad day? feeling down about yourself? a quick 20 minutes of exercise can make you instantly feel better.
according to a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine (volume 20, issue 1, pg. 67-83), a 20-week exercise program resulted in improvements of self-esteem. "Significant improvements in self-esteem at all levels were discovered with global esteem, physical self-worth, and perceptions of physical condition and attractive body increasing."
not sold on exercising yet? try it for yourself and see watch what happens!
