Whether you think exercising is to lose weight or to look good, I’m here to list the main benefits of exercise you might not have thought of and why you absolutely need to get into it.
Habit of exercising
A lot of people have never really been introduced to exercise apart from at school and PE class. And yes, I hated some of it too. I used to be good at it because I played tennis outside of school, so for some discipline I was relatively good.
And then I picked friends who hated running, so we’d run together at the back of the class, really slowly.
Exercising, or practising a sport, has a lot of benefits and that was something we did in the family. We all played tennis, and when one would drop out, they’d pick up football or rugby with friends. Yes I have four brothers and a very sporty sister, so maybe this explains that.
Children need a channel to use all their energy, growth, so I’m glad my parents always took us out to play, run every where, play games, etc. I think this influenced us to always practice something, to go for a run when we’re overwhelmed. Find an activity during which we can switch off.
What is your activity? Among the ones that I can think of, there is: tennis, going to the gym, running, surfing, swimming, badminton, any ball game (football, rugby, basketball), brisk walking, hiking, dancing, martial arts, boxing, cycling, yoga, Pilates. Let me know in the comments what else you can think of, and which benefits you get out of exercise.
Main Benefits of Exercising
- Sweat
When you exercise, hopefully you sweat, otherwise it might mean that you’re not pushing yourself enough. When we sweat, we release toxins and we’re sort of cleansing our body. This in turn helps improve our immune system so you are less likely to catch the common cold when you exercise regularly.
- Reduces stress
During an intense session, you are quite focused on what you do and this is a great way to forget about your worries. You are physically doing something to release the tension. Also, your body is releasing hormones called endorphins, or the happy hormones, that make you feel relaxed and happy.
- Better sleep
Even though studies are limited on this topic, exercise has been linked to better sleep, mostly for people with severe sleep disturbances (1). However, because exercise reduces stress and makes you sweat, even tired, as well as increase your body temperature, this is facilitating your body to, once cooled down, find your sleep easily. But to be honest, there isn’t much literature on the mechanisms why exercise improves your sleep. I just know that my partner and I sleep better when we exercise in the morning – and maybe for you it would be the evening?
- Stay in shape
When I say stay in shape, it doesn’t mean lose weight. I don’t want to focus on this because if you’re trying to lose weight, the priority should be addressing what you eat and your lifestyle, of which exercise is only one part.
But here I mean that when you exercise, you are building muscle, you tone yourself, you are literally staying in or building your shape. That can lead to improving your body image.
Also, when you grow older, your muscle mass decreases so if you want to keep your muscles, you need to lift weights to maintain or increase your muscle mass. This is a great benefit of exercise, that everyone talks about. Everything that you do now will be good habits for later.
- Improved lung functions and strong heart
As you exercise, you are likely to shorten your breath because your body needs more oxygen for the muscles. This is beneficial for your lungs because it is ejecting the waste gases you may have inside. Your heart is keeping super active to help transport the oxygen where it’s needed. It pumps out blood efficiently, and you keep it strong that way.
- Increased confidence
Have you ever noticed how, when you have sweat a lot after a session, you feel good, proud of yourself, maybe strong. The release of endorphins plays a role, but you can to track your progress. You can compete either with a buddy or with yourself, and having this feeling of accomplishment is golden.
- Leadership skills and teamwork
This one is for the corporate or entrepreneur self. Practising a sport as a team or a family will force you to organise yourselves, strategise together, and boy is that good for teamwork! If you are leading the team, you have to give even more of yourself and demonstrate leadership so the team follows you. Every group needs a leader, whether it’s you or you’re a team player, this will definitely improve your interpersonal skills into high levels.
Exercise Benefits That Makes You Feel Good
So there it is, the main reason why I exercise, and its main benefits. Honestly, I have been feeling so much more confident ever since I started lifting weights at the gym. And knowing that I’m able to do this and that, is priceless. Even more when I tell my partner how much I squat and his eyes light up with pride. Yes, that feeling too.
What about you, what is your main reason for exercising? Which benefits do you get from exercise? Let me know in the comments x
Other posts you might like:
Say STOP to a Frustrating Diet
My 3 Daily Hacks for a More Productive Day
7 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight (and It’s Not Calorie Counting)
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341978/
