The Benefits of Exercise

We all know exercise is beneficial, how beneficial though? Does it just give us the swim body some of us desire, or is there much more to it? Today in our discussion about exercise you’ll learn everything you’re gaining from your 20-60 minutes of hard work, and exactly why it’s difficult to spend such a short amount of time in a more productive way.


Benefits of exercise:

Improved sleep

If we exhaust ourselves during the day, we obtain deeper sleep and increase the duration of time spent in our deep sleep. Deep sleep equates to more efficient mental & physical performance, recovery, hormone balance, better mood, memory retention & learning, stress/anxiety management, the list goes on. There are a few different levels of sleep. Deep sleep & REM sleep are the two you will find these benefits. However, be careful about exercising too close to bed time. This will hinder the quality of sleep for most. You can also use exercise to improve your circadian rhythm (our bodies’ “time clock”). We will discuss this detailed sleep topic on another article though as it’s an interesting one we can go in depth with to really understand our body’s sleep cycle.


Setting Goals

Goal setting is at the center of any master plan, and it feels great to meet these goals, right? Progressing in the direction we aim to go is a confidence & energy boost effecting all areas of our life. Which is why this benefit is near the top of our list. After all, how are we supposed to get to our destination if we don’t know where we are going?


Reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke

Im all about stepping away from prescriptions and using natural methods to cure the foundational issue instead of the symptoms, or before the issues even occur. Exercise has been shown to prevent heart disease and stroke as well, and in some cases, even better than medication. Just 20 minutes of light aerobic exercise can increase HDL cholesterol levels, increase insulin sensitivity (controlled blood sugar), help manage body weight, and lower blood pressure. It can also increase the amount of blood vessels that connect your coronary arteries. If you have had a heart attack in the past these blood vessels can help prevent another one by providing additional routes for your blood to flow in case an artery gets blocked again in the future. The improved stress management exercise provides can also prevent another potential stroke or heart attack. A nice stroll in the park on a sunny day can be a cheap & affective supplementation to your heart & brain health regimen.


Elevated Mood

Again, I have no ill feelings about medication being taken when it’s necessary, but when there is a natural alternative I believe it should at least be safely explored. In this case, exercise can be just as affective as an SSRI (anti-depressant) for treating mild to moderate depression. Science says the more physically active we are throughout the day, the more pleasant our thoughts & feelings are. This is due to the release of endorphins like adrenaline, neurotransmitters such as serotonin, and reduce negative immune system chemicals that can make depression worse. It’s no coincidence we are in a better mood post workout. The results increase with intensity of training as well (to a degree haha, there is such thing as too much exercise), so grab those dumbbells and let’s put in some work! ***Something I recently found very interesting at a healthy conference is there are some people who lack a gene which makes them happier during and after a workout. This doesn’t mean there is just pain & misery. Those individuals just may not be filled with as much excitement as others. Regardless, the physical & mental benefits are still there.


You’re probably starting to realize these benefits go full circle. Each benefit touches on the other in some way. For example, exercise benefits sleep. Sleep benefits energy levels, stress, & mood. Less stress means less of a strain on our heart & mind, and so on. Exercise touches on just about everything and helps our body obtain its homeostasis and balance it’s so efficient at achieving. Let’s move on to the next benefit, shall we?!


Increased energy

Have you ever felt exhausted at home or work and thinking the last thing you have energy for is a quick workout? We’ve all been there. Give it a try though and you may be surprised! Low intensity exercise has shown to reduce fatigue & give you an energy boost. High intensity has a similar result, but not as great as low intensity for the use of a quick energy boost. This is due to the increased blood flow to your brain, muscles, and organs. Remember, blood carries oxygen & nutrients, so it only makes sense when more blood is delivered to the areas that make us perform, the more energy we have.


Improved immune system

Just like fighting off heart disease and stroke, exercise improves your immunity reducing the risk of many possible illnesses. Even cancer! Our bodies detox through sweating and increased blood flow to our liver, eliminating toxins from our body that can make us sick. This paired with the major reduction in stress we get from daily exercise is most likely the cause of increased immunity. There is no hard scientific evidence as to how our immune system is improved through exercise. Only that it just is. We exercise and we get sick less and feel better. I can’t argue with the results!


Increased strength & flexibility

The low intensity exercise we just spoke of is great and has it’s host of benefits, however higher intense strength training has it’s own benefits as well. Challenging your body through strength & flexibility training is most likely the fastest way to change how you look and feel moving around each day. As we age our muscles & bones get weaker and more brittle. Focusing on strength will slow this deterioration and even make you more reinforced than before! Kind of makes you feel like Wolverine from Marvel’s X-Men, right?! (Wolverine has regeneration powers. Fun fact, I'm a big superhero fan) Flexibility training such as stretching or yoga will help everyday tasks feel easier and improve blood circulation. Which, like we just discussed, improves health & performance across the board.


A longer life!

I think we can all agree the reason we educate ourselves about healthy living and pour our valuable time & energy into doing so is to live a more enjoyable life and to spend time with & serve ourselves and our loved ones. Exercising will give you more time to do this. This is perhaps the biggest benefit of all. Studies show we can add almost 4 years to our life by lightly exercising for 30min five times per week! That’s a lot of extra time! So if you aren’t interested in the details of how exercise improves your life, maybe the simple fact of living a longer one is the only reason you need.



How much is too much?

The benefits of exercise capped out at around 300 minutes per week (one hour per day, five days a week). Im not saying there isn’t any benefit at all exercising past this point (I’m guilty of this about every week), however when we train with too much intensity for too long, our bodies become over worked. When this happens, about the opposite of every benefit we have read above happens. Increased stress, weakened immunes system, hormone imbalances, physical & mental fatigue, high risk for injury, dampened mood, and more. Challenge yourself and grow, and ask yourself if it’s too much every now and then as well.

#greenthumbinitiative
​#themoreweknowthemorewegrow