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Top 5 Benefits Of Exercise
Breaking News: Exercise is good for you and good for your heart! Well, that’s not exactly true. It isn’t breaking news, it’s old news. Exercise and health are two sides of the same coin, and let’s not forget overall wellbeing. Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to maintain good weight, mood, complexion, energy, and bodily health and mental wellbeing.
Heart Health
A lack of physical activity can bring on a number of health risks, the most serious of which is cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association says that studies consistently show a link between exercise and reduced risk of heart disease. Regular exercise promotes weight reduction and helps reduce blood pressure, both of which are contributors to cardiac events, such as heart attack and stroke.
Cholesterol Levels
Exercise also has positive effects on cholesterol levels, reducing LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels while raising HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol. LDL cholesterol can build up in your arteries if not effectively flushed from your system by HDL cholesterol.
The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes a week of rigorous exercise to maintain a healthy heart.
Weight Control
Management through regular exercise is closely linked to heart health. A sedentary lifestyle limits the calories burned by your body throughout the day, which leads to weight gain and increased risk of heart disease. Physical activity encourages your body to reduce body fat, build lean muscle mass, and increase the use of calories.
Obesity is a growing problem, and only a concerted effort to increase physical activity will lower this widespread epidemic. Poor nutrition and inactive lifestyles inevitably cause unwanted weight gain, which in turn bring about all kinds of health risks.
Mood
Studies have shown that anxiety, depression, and mood are positively affected by exercise, writes the Mayo Clinic. The physical benefits of exercise are obvious, but the psychological effects are not as well known. Many people suffer from a variety of mood disorders, ranging from severe depression to regular ‘bad moods’. Even a small amount of regular exercise, as little as ten minutes a day, can significantly improve how you feel and help stave off anxiety and depression.
Energy
Increased energy is another great benefit of regular physical activity. It may seem counterintuitive to think of expending energy to gain energy, but that’s the way it is. Just like the old adage ‘It takes money to make money’, it takes energy to gain energy.
Studies have shown that regular physical activity can boost energy levels, writes WebMD. People who suffer from chronic medical conditions associated with fatigue, such as cancer and heart disease, can benefit significantly from regular exercise.
The Daily Mail reports a study that suggests exercise boosts mental activity by helping the brain work faster and more efficiently. Researchers conclude that exercise can not only improve your health and combat fatigue, it can also improve your mental activity and make you a more effective person.
Sex Life
Although it may not seem like the most important factor in life, an improved sex life has a number of benefits for your overall health and wellbeing. Reported by the American Council on Exercise, a published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that sexual dysfunction is more common in people with poor physical and emotional health.
The connection between a sedentary lifestyle and a poor sex life suggests that people who exercise feel better about themselves, their looks, are more confident and can perform better in the bedroom.
Psychology
Today looked at a study that found that exercise and physical fitness enhances attractiveness and increases energy levels. People that exercise, the study concluded, experience a greater level of satisfaction and a positive perception of self.
It’s a reinforcing cycle of self improvement:
Good fitness leads to good health which leads to greater sexual satisfaction and performance that improves how you feel about yourself. The benefits of exercise are many, too many to list them all here. Regular exercise significantly improves your health, mood, energy, sex life, and how you feel about yourself. All of these factors should be enough to encourage any couch potatoes out there to improve their life.
Start Now!
Getting started is often the hardest part, but baby steps are better than no steps at all. Set achievable goals. Start with walking ten minutes a day, then up that to twenty minutes, then thirty. Soon you’ll start feeling the benefits and you’ll want to push yourself even more. Months will pass, pounds will be shed, energy will be improved, and your sense of self will become your motivation. Don’t wait for tomorrow, start today!
3 Heart Healthy Foods
If you do one thing this year it should be look after your heart. Heart disease is one of the top killers and sadly, much of it can be prevented if you look after yourself properly. This includes exercise, less stress, and diet. Here are three foods that you should add to your diet in 2020 to look after your most important organ.
SOY
If you have not yet jumped on the soy bandwagon, it is time. Once considered a food only for the hippies or extremely health conscious, soy is now making its way into the mainstream diet. The great thing about soy is that it gives you protein and fills you up without the fat that comes from animal meats. Also, it absorbs any flavour that you cook it with so you can throw it into just about any dish. It is also much more inexpensive than meat and is way better for your arteries and heart.
FISH
Fish is the number one source of Omega 3 fatty acids which are your hearts best friend. These healthy fats lower blood fats called triglycerides and may reduce your risk of sudden cardiac death. The best types of fish to eat are cold water fish such as wild salmon, mackerel, and herring.
Brown Rice
Though some people argue the flavour of brown rice is different from white, once you compare the health advantages brown rice wins hands down. It may take a little getting used to but once you start eating brown rice you won&undefined;t go back to white. It is so much better for your health because it contains whole grains.
Whole grains are a source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, zinc and iron. All of the nutrients found in brown rice regulate blood pressure and promote heart health.
A Few Other Things To Keep in Mind
Along with improving your diet make sure to get plenty of exercise to keep your heart in good shape. Cut down the amount of time you watch tv and get moving. Also, if you are a smoker the most important thing you can do for yourself and your heart is to quit as soon as possible. Most people associate smoking with respiratory problems and lung cancer but the fact is it also causes heart disease.