Health Benefits of Exercise

Feel Fit and Energized With Regular Physical Activity

The health benefits of exercise are far-reaching. Fitness is defined as being in the state of general psychological and physical well-being - the result of combining regular exercise with healthy eating.

This lifestyle combination is the most effective way to improve your chances of staying healthy and living longer.

Conversely, an inactive lifestyle increases your chances of becoming overweight and predisposed to developing one or more of several chronic degenerative diseases.

What Is The Difference Between
Exercise and Physical Activity?

Physical activity is any active movement that uses energy. This includes gardening, house and yard work, or walking the dog.

Exercise is a more structured physical activity that is done for a particular length of time and at a certain intensity. It includes aerobic activities like brisk walking, cycling, dancing, swimming, playing sports, and doing strength training such as weight lifting.

The health benefits of exercise and physical activity are obtained by increasing the amount of the activity you do and performing the activities regularly.

What Are The Health Benefits of Exercise?

1. Improves muscle tone and increases muscle mass while burning fat
2. Helps with weight management by reducing body fat, increasing metabolism, and burning calories
3. Stimulates brain chemicals such as endorphins to promote a psychological sense of well-being
4. Acts as a stress management tool by reducing the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, to healthier levels
5. Improves the production of mood-altering brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters which reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety
6. Reduces the risk of and helps manage cardiovascular disease
• Lowers blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure
• Boosts HDL (good) cholesterol while decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Lowers the risk of stroke by reducing the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Helps with stroke recovery by promoting new blood vessel growth in the brain - which helps protect against the extensive damage that normally occurs following stroke.
• Strengthens the heart muscle which improves blood flow and increases the work capacity of your heart


7. Weight bearing exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis by helping to maintain and build bone mass
8. Helps prevent type 2 diabetes by assisting with weight loss - which can increase insulin sensitivity and improve blood sugar levels
9. Reduces the risk of arthritis - helps to maintain joint flexibility and lubrication
10. Muscle strengthening and flexibility exercises decrease back pain
    
    
11. Helps protect against certain types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer
12. Nourishes body tissues by delivering oxygen and nutrients to each of the trillion cells in our body
13. Accelerates the detoxification process through increased lymph circulation, sweating, deep breathing, and burning fat cells that store toxins.
14. Improves sleep patterns and reduces insomnia - can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep
15. Enhances healthy brain function by increasing cerebral blood flow and levels of a brain-cell growth hormone; helps generate new brain cells and regenerates damaged brain circuits - even as we age; improves our ability to think, learn and remember
16. May help prevent or slow the progression of brain diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimers.