Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity

You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good? From boosting your mood to improving your sex life, find out how exercise can improve your life. Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. And the benefits of exercise are yours for the taking, regardless of your age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing to exercise? Check out these seven ways exercise can improve your life. No. 1: Exercise controls weight Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. You don't need to set aside large chunks of time for exercise to reap weight-loss benefits. If you can't do an actual workout, get more active throughout the day in simple ways — by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or revving up your household chores. No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls. No. 3: Exercise improves mood Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. No. 4: Exercise boosts energy Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores. No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep Struggling to fall asleep? Or to stay asleep? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to fall asleep. No. 6: Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise. No. 7: Exercise can be fun Exercise and physical activity can be a fun way to spend some time. It gives you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting. So, take a dance class, hit the hiking trails or join a soccer team. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. If you get bored, try something new. The bottom line on exercise Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns. Source : http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676/NSECTIONGROUP=2 © 1998-2011 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All rights reserved.

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. Fortunately, it's a risk factor that you can do something about. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits. It can: * Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system. * Improve your circulation and help your body use oxygen better. * Improve your heart failure symptoms. * Increase energy levels so you can do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath. * Increase endurance. * Lower blood pressure. * Improve muscle tone and strength. * Improve balance and joint flexibility. * Strengthen bones. * Help reduce body fat and help you reach a healthy weight. * Help reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression. * Boost self-image and self-esteem. * Improve sleep. * Make you feel more relaxed and rested. * Make you look fit and feel healthy. How Do I Get Started Exercising? Before starting an exercise program, talk to your doctor about: * Medication changes. New medications can greatly affect your response to exercise; your doctor can tell you if your normal exercise routine is still safe. * Heavy lifting. Make sure that lifting or pushing heavy objects and chores such as raking, shoveling, mowing, or scrubbing aren't off limits. Chores around the house can be tiring for some people; make sure you only do what you are able to do without getting tired. * Safe exercises. Get the doctor's approval before you lift weights, use a weight machine, jog, or swim. What Type of Exercise Is Best? * Stretching: slow lengthening of the muscles. Stretching the arms and legs before and after exercising helps prepare the muscles for activity and helps prevent injury and muscle strain. Regular stretching also increases your range of motion and flexibility. * Cardiovascular or aerobic: steady physical activity using large muscle groups. This type of exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and improves the body's ability to use oxygen. Aerobic exercise has the most benefits for your heart. Over time, aerobic exercise can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure at rest and improve your breathing. * Strengthening: repeated muscle contractions (tightening) until the muscle becomes tired. For people with heart failure, many strengthening exercises are not recommended. (See below) What Are Examples of Aerobic Exercises? Aerobic exercises include: walking, jogging, jumping rope, bicycling (stationary or outdoor), cross-country skiing, skating, rowing, and low-impact aerobics or water aerobics. How Often Should I Exercise? In general, to achieve maximum benefits, you should gradually work up to an aerobic session lasting 20 to 30 minutes, at least three to four times a week. Exercising every day or every other day will help you keep a regular aerobic exercise schedule. Source : ©2005-2011 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.

Health Benefits of Regular Physical Exercise: What are the Facts?

Introduction Regular physical activity provides enormous health benefits. It helps reduce heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and many other diseases and metabolic conditions. Regular fitness exercise is also highly beneficial for weight reduction and weight maintenance, and may improve brain chemistry to reduce depression. By contrast, health studies that have monitored the wellbeing of large groups of people over many years clearly show that inactivity significantly increases the risk of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases. The Healthy Weight Loss Program That Gives You REAL Personal Support The Health Benefits of Exercise Studies show that regular physical activity: - improves your chances of living longer - improves quality of life - reduces the risk of heart disease - helps lower high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol - helps protect you from developing certain cancers - helps prevent or control type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes) - reduces the risk of arthritis and alleviates associated symptoms - helps prevent osteoporosis (gradual loss of bone mass/strength) - improves mobility and strength in later life - alleviates symptoms of depression and anxiety - benefits weight reduction and weight management What is the Healthiest Type of Exercise? Different types of exercise offer different benefits. Aerobic or cardio workouts primarily improve the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs), while weight-training or strength-training improves muscular strength and flexibility or stretching exercises improve overall mobility and coordination. Cardiovascular Exercise If you lead a fairly inactive or sedentary life, any increase in aerobic activity is good for you. Studies show that a brisk walk for even one to two hours a week (15 to 20 minutes a day) reduces your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, developing diabetes, or premature death. Weight-bearing aerobic exercise can also strengthen joints, and improve bone strength. How Much Exercise is Needed? The U.S. Surgeon General,(1) along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine, recommend getting a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week. You can do all 30 minutes at once or break it up into 10- or 15-minute periods. Moderate intensity exercise or physical activity is activity that causes a slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate. One way to gauge moderate activity is with the "talk test" - exercising hard enough to break a sweat but not so hard you can't comfortably carry on a conversation. Brisk walking is an ideal moderate-intensity activity. For the average person, a brisk walk means walking 3-4 miles an hour, or about as fast as you'd walk if you were late for a ball-game or PTA meeting! Walking Improves Health Research studies like the Nurses' Health Study, Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Women's Health Study, Harvard Health Study, National Health Interview Survey, Women's Health Initiative, Honolulu Heart Program, and others show that this simple form of exercise substantially reduces the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes in different populations. 30 Minutes Exercise is Not a Maximum Training Period Although a mere 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a day is an excellent way to start, exercising longer, harder, or both can result in even greater health benefits. Exercise For Weight Reduction If you are walking or exercising mainly to reduce weight, 30 minutes or so a day will only be beneficial if you also monitor your calorie-intake. Even then, you may need to increase the duration or intensity of your workout. A report from the US Institute of Medicine reveals that it takes 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity to maintain a healthy weight. Among the 3,000 men and women who are part of the National Weight Control Registry, a select club that includes only people who lost more than 30 pounds and kept them off for at least a year, the average participant burns an average of 400 calories per day in physical activity. That's the equivalent of about an hour of brisk walking. Strength-Training This type of exercise (also called weight-training or resistance training) includes any workout that uses resistance - like weights - to strengthen and condition the musculo-skeletal system. It includes, weight-lifting, resistance band workouts, cycling, climbing stairs, as well as exercises like pushups. Such exercises can improve metabolic rate, coordination, balance, muscle strength and overall physical condition. Strength-Training Improves Metabolic Rate The point is, muscle is metabolically active - it needs calories to work, repair and refuel itself. By contrast, body-fat needs very few calories to sustain itself. From our mid 20s onwards, we gradually lose muscle as part of the natural aging process. This means that the number of calories we need each day decreases. So if we continue to eat the same amount of calories, we gain weight. By taking regular strength training exercise, it is possible to reduce this loss of lean muscle tissue and even replace some that has been lost already. Health studies repeatedly show that strength training increases muscle mass, decreases fat tissue and raisesmetabolic rate. Strength-Training Improves Bone Health Another health benefit of resistance training is improved bone health. In addition to weight bearing cardiovascular exercise, strength training has been shown to reduce osteoporosis. For example, according to one study of postmenopausal women, 2 strength training sessions a week for one year increased bone mineral density by 1 percent. A sedentary control group lost 2 percent in the same time period. Strength-Training Improves Physical Quality of Life Among elderly people, resistance training can help improve/maintain the ability to carry out basic functional tasks such as walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs and so on, thereby enhancing confidence, independence and quality of life. Flexibility Training Stretching exercises are also beneficial for health and physical fitness. Studies show that this type of flexibility training increases your range of motion, while reducing exercise-related muscle soreness and injury. In addition, by warming up and cooling down with 5 minutes of stretches before and after your workout, you will minimize the risk of looking bulkier, especially in your thigh and calf muscles. 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JAMA 1994; 272:1909-14 Source : http://www.annecollins.com/health-benefits-of-exercise.htm Add Your Site | Site Map © 2000-2007 Anne Collins. All rights reserved.