Why should I exercise?
Our health is of utmost importance, yet so many of us don’t give it the attention it deserves. We all lead such busy lives that things like exercising and eating healthily kind of fall to the wayside. Yes, that may be fine for you now, but how are you going to be in 10, 20, 30 years time? During our first few decades we can treat our body fairly badly and it not have much impact, but carry of with that lifestyle and you’ll see that your body reacts a lot differently!
So why should we opt for a more active lifestyle? What are the benefits on our mind and body?
Not to scare you but as we age our body changes:
a loss of calcium results in bone mass loss (more so for females post menopause) which can lead to osteoporosis. About 1% is lost by women each year
there are skeletal changes which puts us at risk of spinal curvatures, brittle bones and fractures, as well as leading to poor posture. No one wants a hunched back out of choice
peak muscle mass is reached by around age 30, after which we start losing that mass and increasing in fat. You lose about 5% of muscle mass each decade. This affects our power and strength, so every day movement becomes harder.
Cardiorespiratory issues are more commonplace, partially due to inactivity rather than age, but there are changes such as a decreased cardiac muscle and heart volume, increased blood pressure and reduced temperature regulation for example.
our nervous system affects our coordination, balance and reaction times
Just a few reasons to think about! Obviously I have lots of different aged people reading this so it may not be relevant to you yet, but we all get old so these could happen to you in the future if you don’t take some preventative measures. And honestly, I’m not saying you have to become some athlete, you just need to add moderate activity into your daily life.
So what are the benefits:
obviously, better overall health
more energy and vitality
helps us mentally as well as physically – it improves our mood if we can get that serotonin going and helps stress levels
we can ward off obesity and metabolise fat more easily
builds stronger bones and muscles
prevention of heart disease and other heart/lung related issues
reduced risk of falling
improved quality of sleep
reduced risk of diabetes type 2
Hopefully you can now see how important it is to stay active and what you can avoid in the future by working on it in the present. But, don’t worry, it’s never too late to start. It may be completely alien to you to do any form of exercise, so just take it one step at a time. As I said earlier, you don’t need to become some athlete, you just need to add in exercise where you can and you can build on it from there.
As a guideline, it’s recommended that you aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week along with strength based exercise at least twice a week and some flexibility moves where you can.
I’m currently offering my 14 Day Healthy Starter programme which is ideal for anyone who’s new to exercise or who’s had a bit of a break. You’ll get exercise routines, motivation, a food plan for 7 days and daily tips and advice. For a limited time I’m offering it for £30. Find out more
Good luck with changing your lifestyle for the better!
Get fitness and health advice, nutritional tips, offers and class updates with my newsletter - sign up here
And, please come join me in my Facebook Group to get updates on when the blogs are posted and other useful updates/info