10 Benefits of Exercise

Now we all know that exercise is beneficial for us and that we should be doing it regularly, but do we really know the reasons why it’s so good for us? Most of you probably know that basic principles and exercise for your own reasons but lets take a good look at my top ten reasons why you should be exercising. Please do remember this is not an exhaustive list and everybody responds differently to exercise and different types of exercise.

We Sleep Better
I love my sleep but it’s something that doesn’t always come easily to me. What I do notice though is that a lack of exercise has a knock on effect with my sleeping patterns. I find my sleep is much more disturbed and restless if my activity levels have decreased. Exercise has been proven to help adults to fall asleep quicker, have more restful sleep and help to improve sleep disorders such as insomnia. Exercise increases the amount of energy we expend during the day making us feel more tired and ready to rest and relax at night. Stress and anxiety can effect our sleeping patterns and exercise helps to relieve these symptoms adding to a better night’s sleep.

Improve your mental health
Physical activity impacts both on our cardiovascular fitness and how strong our muscles and bones are but also our mental health and well-being. Many studies have shown that exercise has a positive impact on how we feel, exercise helps to release endorphins which in turn make us feel happy. We get that ‘runner’s high’.
Exercise can also be a great way for some people to release stress. Now this doesn’t have to be high impact or high intensity, often a gentle jog or brisk walk in some green space can be beneficial, but of course it’s whatever works best for you. Personally, I love a good run outside if I’m feeling a little stressed or overwhelmed. There’s something about plugging in and hitting the pavement that helps me to clear my head.
Exercise has also been proven to help those who have mental health difficulties. It has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. This is thought to be largely related to feelings of self-esteem and confidence.

Be strong
From around the age of 30 we lose muscle mass and bone density slowly. It’s important to keep active and exercise, including both cardio and resistance based exercise, to help maintain our strength. It’s very much a ‘use it or lose it’ situation. Weight bearing exercises whether that be body weight, fixed resistance or free weights help to keep our bone density and muscle mass high. Women are especially prone to osteoporosis (brittle bones) so get those weights at the ready, ladies.

Feel confident
This one links in closely with improving our mental health and well-being as exercising often helps to increase our confidence. Whether it’s doing something you’ve never done before, and stepping out of your comfort zone or hitting that personal best, physical activity has lots of ways to grow our confidence. The biggest thing I notice with many of clients is when they master a new exercise or start to see results, it can be a real confidence boost. I know for me personally when I’m lifting heavy weights it makes me feel confident and sassy! Hold that head up and own it!
My biggest tip here is to ignore the scales. They have their place, don’t get me wrong but I’m a big advocate of how exercise makes you feel. Are you lifting heavier weights? Do your clothes fit better? Have you got more energy? Do you feel good in yourself? Yes? That’s all the reason you need to exercise!

Increased energy levels
The more we move our bodies the more efficient they become. They adapt to the movements we perform and make things easier the next time we perform that movement. It’s just like learning how to do long division, kind of. In turn, the more we move the easier it becomes and the more energy we have.
Exercise helps to alleviate feelings of lethargy and helps to focus our minds, it’s those endorphins kicking in again! It’s also been known to help those with chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic illnesses.

Reduce your risk of major illness and disease
We all want to live our lives illness and disease free and exercise plays a very important role in this. Cardiovascular exercise such as running, swimming, rowing, dancing and even the weights, basically anything that gets your heart rate elevated, will improve your heart and lung function. Our heart is a muscle that needs exercising just as much as the rest of us. Regular exercise also reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
The NHS guidelines recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week in addition to two days including strength exercises.

Better daily functions
Having strong muscles and bones through regular exercise will help with all our daily living activities. From cleaning and DIY around the house to carrying your shopping and even tying your shoe laces. That’s not to mention having the stamina to keep up with the kids, grandchildren, nieces or nephews that you’re running around after. We all want to be able to be able to live our life comfortably and with as much ease as possible, don’t we?

Prevent injuries and pain
Strength training along with including mobility and flexibility in to our weekly routines is a must to help prevent injuries and keep us pain free. The most common injuries I hear about and talk to clients about is the lack of mobility in our daily movements and getting injuries from silly things like getting out of the car and pulling your back. I’ve learnt the hard way when training for my marathon and pounding the pavements as much as I could and neglected my strength training and stretching. As a result, I ended up with two very painful knees. It’s taken almost a year to get them pain free and this has come from focusing on strength and incorporating weekly yoga and pilates.

Improve cognitive function
Exercise has also be proven to help with our cognitive functions such as memory and learning. Aerobic exercise causes an increase in blood flow around our body including your brain. The more blood flow, the more oxygen our brain receives which can stimulate the growth of more blood vessels, brain cells and nerves. It is also thought exercise is related to the size of a particular area in the brain, the hippocampus. This is particularly important for the older generation and those with dementia and Alzheimer’s but is just as important for the general population too.
Physical activity can also be beneficial for our focus, whether this be at work or whilst studying. Younger children and adults will benefit greatly from regular exercise to help them focus in school, at university and during exams. The same applies into adulthood. My top tip here would be to make the most of your lunch break or if you find yourself procrastinating and not being productive with your time, take a brisk walk outside or walk a few flights of stairs in the office. By stepping away from the task and clearing your mind and getting your blood pumping you’ll most likely find you’re much more productive when you return.

It’s fun and social
I’ve saved this one for last (hopefully you’re still reading), it’s a little less science based but for me just as important. Exercise should be enjoyable and not a chore. I talked a lot about this is my previous blog on motivation but feel it fits here too. Joining a gym, going to class, joining a dance class or running club can be a great way to meet new people and socialise outside of your usual friendship group. You never know you may make some new friends and meet like minded people.

I hope you’ve found this useful but any questions you know where to find me.