10 Life-Changing Benefits of Exercise

To exercise means to engage in physical activity to sustain or improve health and fitness.

The benefits that exercising offers are endless and could increase the quality and the length of your life.

Exercising on a regularly can affect your wellbeing through changes in your body composition and your hormonal balances.

1. It Can Increase Your Lifespan

Studies have proven that an improvement cardiovascular exercise will reduce the risk of premature death from all causes. (1,2,3)

An individual's cardiovascular level is one of the best predictors of mortality and morbidity. (1,2,3)

Exercise has an abundance of health benefits that can add years to your lifespan through many different factors. 

2. It Has a Positive Impact on Bone Density

Bones are like muscles and other tissue in the human body in the sense that they adapt to stress that is placed upon them. Weight bearing exercises place stress on the bones and they react by gaining density when paired with proper nutrition and age.

An Individual reaches their peak bone density when they are around 30 years old.(4)

It is essential for an individual to get regular exercise when they are young. Once you reach you peak bone density it will only stabilize and then decline. Regular exercise after the age of 30 can help slow the decline of bone density dramatically though.

3. It Can Keep Your Heart Functioning Properly

Cardiorespiratory exercise causes numerous positive physical effects to the human body and can strengthen your heart leading it to be more efficient. (5,6,7)

Cardiorespiratory exercise reduces the risk of heart disease and is very effective at lowering cholesterol. (7)

Regular exercise will lower your resting heart rate and your active heart rate during any given activity. Along with this it can lower your arterial blood pressure.

4. It Can Improve Mental Health

Regular exercise has been shown to promote a positive mood while decreasing occurrences of depression and anxiety. (8)

Exercising can increase your ability to relax and sleep. (9)

Regular exercise can increase a person's tolerance to stress and ability to handle stress. (10)

Studies have shown that exercising can improve energy levels in a healthy individual. (11)

5. It Can Increase Muscle Size and Strength

A weight training program using resistance exercises can lead to improved strength gains and hypertrophy (Muscle Gain).

Performing resistance exercises can lead to an increase of muscular endurance and allow your muscles to fatigue more slowly.

As a person's lean body mass increases their resting metabolic rate goes up as well leading to easier fat loss.

6. It Can Improve Your Ability to Balance

Through a balance training program, a person can greatly improve their balance capabilities allowing for them to stay stable and standing when they may not have without the adequate training.

The elderly benefit from this the most but everyone can benefit some because increased balance leads to a decrease in the occurrence of injury. (12)

7. It Can Have A Positive Effect on Hormones

Studies have shown that testosterone levels and growth hormone levels both increase after exercise. (13)

An increase in testosterone can lead to a higher sex drive, a higher metabolic rate, and a higher rate of muscle growth.

Exercise can have a negative effect on hormones if overtraining happens, this is due to excess cortisol being released. Make sure to not over train.

8. It Can Help Promote Weight Loss

Weight loss is achieved by a calorie deficit daily until the desired weight is achieved. There are two ways to achieve a calorie deficit; reducing calorie intake or increasing calorie expenditure through exercise.

An optimal weight loss program will include both diet and exercise plans.

If fat loss is the goal instead of weight loss an individual can achieve this through the help of an increased metabolic rate from extra lean body mass.

9. Targeted Exercise Can Improve Posture

Having proper posture has many benefits such as; Improved ability of the nervous system to interact with the musculature system and allowing for proper length tension relationships (muscles not too tight or too underactive). (14)

With proper posture you can avoid unnecessary stress on joints and avoid potential injuries that could result from musculature imbalances.

Something as simple as performing basic core exercises a few times a week can improve your posture.

10. Exercise Can Be Turned Into A Fun Hobby

Exercising doesn’t have to be something that you do at the gym and dread doing every day when you get off work. There are countless ways that you can incorporate exercise into your life in a way that makes it fun for you.  

If you’re the type that likes to workout at a gym but, haven't found it to be very exciting for you I encourage you to speak to a personal trainer there or try out a new class.

If you’re not the type to enjoy a gym environment that is ok too, there are many other ways to receive the benefits of exercise, such as; hiking, walking, running outdoors, playing sports, bike riding, or swimming.

Remember This

The benefits that exercising offers are priceless and could alter the quality and the length of your life.

Exercising on a regular basis can affect your wellbeing from the inside out and from the outside in, through changes in your physical appearance and your hormonal balances

You don’t have to be a “gym rat” to enjoy the benefits of regular exercise. Choose an activity that you enjoy and make it as challenging as you wish. If you would like to have professional guidance from an online personal trainer through your fitness journey check out our training services here at shogun athletics.