We all know that exercising is great on multiple levels. We hear it all the time, and we get it. But hearing it isn’t enough to motivate us, and it doesn’t even begin to describe what it’s like when we institute a daily routine.
When you take up that mantle, it’s like drinking the elixir of life. The years, the miles, the weight—it all falls away. You won’t feel sluggish or tired. Your thoughts will clear. Your mood will improve, and you’ll start to become someone different—someone younger, someone more beautiful, smarter, happier—rejuvenated and fresh. You have to know what you’re missing if you want to motivate yourself, because it is glorious.
If that’s not enough, know what your body needs. Know that life can be short, or it can be long. Know that one day, you will end up sitting in the doctor’s office—like we all do—having a hard talk about your health, and when that day comes, you’re going to wish you spent more time exercising. Put that day off as long as you can. Learn the longterm benefits of exercise, memorize them, recite them, and take them to heart, because they mean everything.
Here are the Top 7 Benefits of Exercising Regularly
1 Exercising Regularly Improves Heart Health
One of the most important long term benefits of exercise is its effects on the cardiovascular system. The heart is a muscle. Just like any other muscle in the body, exercise gives your heart strength and endurance. A stronger heart can pump more blood through the body with less effort. This reduces strain on the arteries, which in turn lowers blood pressure. Increased blood flow can also help lower cholesterol and plaque buildup, which can clog the arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke. It also means that your body will do a better job of metabolizing blood sugar, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and damage to the arterial walls. There’s really no limit to the cardiovascular benefits that come from working out. With just 30 minutes of recommended exercise per day, you can work to prevent most major cardiac emergencies. If someone already has a heart condition, like plaque buildup, heart disease or high blood pressure, exercise might mean the difference between life and death, and it can even work to reduce chronic conditions. If you’d like to improve your heart health, learn how to use equipment like a treadmill, a bike, or an elliptical. They’re perfect for cardiovascular exercises.
2 Exercising Regularly Makes You Lose Weight and Keep it Off
Weight loss is the most obvious benefit of exercising regularly, but it can feel like an unobtainable goal. Oftentimes, it’s because we don’t follow through. Let’s face it. We cheat on our diets. We cancel our gym memberships, and we give up. Sometimes it’s because we make the wrong choices. We get desperate and sloppy. We take every shortcut the internet has to offer. We get conned by cheap gurus and sadistic fads, often hurting ourselves and causing irreparable damage in the process. What we need is a point of reference, a clear guide to live by. It should be something that can be checked off a list, so you can complete the necessary task and move on with your life. The answer is easy if you stick to it. Do 30 minutes of recommended exercise per day, and you will shed those pounds. You don’t have to drink weird shakes or live off pork rinds and kale chips. That’s not healthy. Exercising is healthy, and if you include it in your daily your routine, just like bathing or doing the dishes, it’s easier than you’d think. It might be a struggle at first, but if you’re consistent, you’ll start to slip into a groove. Getting started is easy. Go for a walk. Explore paths in your neighborhood or do slow laps around the park. It doesn’t have to be a marathon, just enough to get your heart pumping for the recommended amount of time.
3 Exercising Regularly Helps You Sleep Better
Having a poor sleep schedule effects every aspect of your health, both mentally and physically. It can lead to diabetes, cancer, heart failure, even strokes. That’s not to mention the way it affects your mood and your overall ability to get through your day. Moderate aerobic exercise increases your amount of slow wave sleep, also known as deep sleep. This is the type of sleep that your body needs to feel rested and rejuvenated, so you can operate at peak performance. Scientists don’t fully understand why exercising helps you sleep better, but they do know a few tricks to keep you on a regular schedule. If you’re a night owl, and you tend to want to stay up, try exercising in the morning. You’ll be ready to go to bed earlier. If you have insomnia, and your body won’t let you sleep, exercise 1-2 hours before bed. Your core temperature will drop after your workout, causing you to feel tired, and your body will enter a resting state. This will also decrease brainwave activity, slowing the racing thoughts that tend to keep people up at night.
4 Exercising Regularly Increases Cognitive Functioning
We all know that exercising helps your body, but there’s a massive amount of research showing that it also affects your mind. Exercise is known to reduce inflammation and blood flow, helping to stimulate the growth of new brain cells. Six months of moderate aerobic exercise is actually known to increase brain mass in the areas that rule thinking and memory, as well as logic and problem solving. This is one of the biggest benefits of exercise for students, especially in universities and colleges who need their brains to function better than usual. It is also known to decrease insulin resistance and inflammation, which will clear your head and work to prevent cognitive decline later in life. Most of the studies done on this subject were centered around walking. A brisk pace, for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, is all that is needed.
5Exercising Regularly Improves Your Mental Health
When you exercise you push yourself to achieve a goal, whether it’s fifteen minutes on a stairclimber or six reps with a hundred-pound barbell. You’re working your butt off to achieve something, and when you finally do, it sets off the reward center in your brain, giving you a rush of elation, excitement, even euphoria. Repeat this process regularly, and you’ll gain greater self-esteem and optimism that will last throughout the day. Exercise also releases chemicals like dopamine and serotonin through physiological processes, reinforcing your newfound happiness, while reducing stress hormones throughout the body. This might sound like a cheap high, but in reality, it’s a revolution. Everything inside you will change. The world will open up. You’ll see through new eyes. Combine this with a better sleep cycle, weight loss, and increased cognitive functioning, and you’ve got a recipe for inner peace. This is another one of the benefits of exercise for students, or anyone that wants to increase productivity. You won’t be dragging yourself through life anymore. You’ll breeze through it, singing while you work.
6 Exercising Regularly Will Help You Live Longer
30 minutes of exercise per day can increase your lifespan by more than 7 years, and that is valuable time. It could give you the chance to meet your grandkids, walk your daughter down the aisle at her wedding, or simply give you a few more years to enjoy the things you love. One of the reasons why exercise is so important is because it decreases your risk of chronic diseases and certain types of cancer, which can greatly aid in longevity. But that’s not all. It strengthens the immune system, helping to guard against potentially fatal infections.It increases blood flow, which encourages new cell growth and healing. It even slows the fundamental aging process in your DNA. Those are just a few of the ways that exercise can help you live longer; more will probably be discovered in the years to come. Don’t miss out on precious moments. Take back your health, lengthen your lifespan, and don’t look back.
7 Exercising Regularly Can Improve Your Love Life
Working out will transform your body in surprising ways. You’ll lose weight and build muscle mass. Your complexion will clear, and you’ll take on a youthful glow. Your newfound confidence and optimism will shine through, and heads will start to turn. People will begin to wonder. They’ll start talking to you. They’ll give you that look and smile. You’ll see it in their eyes, and pretty soon, you’ll begin to connect. If you’re already in a relationship, your improved mental health and new physique will help you foster deeper intimacy, so you can rebuild what you once had. Love is still possible. You can have it in your life. You just have to take care of your body and your mind.
