Print Article for : The Importance Of Exercise

Your Online Guide » Sports » Fitness And Wellness

[T532]The Importance Of Exercise

by Peter sams, Pet

Exercise is any type of physical exertion we perform in an effort to improve our health, shape our bodies and boost performance. Obviously that covers a broad range of activities and, luckily, there are plenty to go around whether you want to lose weight, get healthy or train for a sport.

Physical activity can lower your blood glucose (sugar), blood pressure, and cholesterol. It also reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke, relieves stress, and strengthens your heart, muscles, and bones. In addition, regular activity helps insulin work better, improves your blood circulation, and keeps your joints flexible. If you're trying to lose weight, a combination of physical activity and wise food choices can help you reach your target weight and maintain it. All of these benefits can be yours even if you haven't been very active before.

Why exercise is important

Increased Metabolism-Increased physical activity through working out leads to more muscle mass, which in itself leads to a higher metabolism. As per some studies, every extra pound of muscle allows you to burn anywhere from 50-100 calories when at rest.
Improved Muscle-Tone-Physical activity, especially weight training allows you to change the shape of your body. Since muscle is denser than fat, one can get bigger or smaller by gaining more muscle mass?
Protect against heart problems. More Americans die each year from heart disease than any other ailment. Aerobic activity makes the heart pump more efficiently, which helps to lower blood pressure. It can also raise the level of "good" cholesterol, whose job is to remove excess fat from the blood stream.

Maintain a healthy weight-Regular exercise helps you to and helps your heart to work more efficiently.
Exercise can help you feel less anxious-Exercise is being prescribed in clinical settings to help treat nervous tension. Following a session of exercise, clinicians have measured a decrease in electrical activity of tensed muscles. People have been less jittery and hyperactive after an exercise session.

Exercise can make you feel better about yourself-Think about those times when you've been physically active. Haven't you felt better about yourself? That feeling of self-worth contributes to stress relief.
Becoming Strong and Healthy- The wonderful tool of exercise can help teens become fit and healthy. Performing some form of physical activity daily will significantly boost your "basal metabolic rate"-the number of calories your body burns in order to keep you alive. By having a high metabolism, you burn calories 24 hours a day-even while you sleep! You can literally turn your body into a fat-burning machine!

Exercise benefits every part of the body, including the mind. Exercising causes the body to produce endorphins, chemicals that can help a person to feel more peaceful and happy. Exercise can help some people sleep better. It can also help some people who have mild depression and low self-esteem. Plus, exercise can give people a real sense of accomplishment and pride at having achieved a certain goal - like beating an old time in the 100-meter dash.
Exercise Makes You Flexible-Can you touch your toes easily without yelling ouch? Most kids are pretty flexible, which means that they can bend and stretch their bodies without much trouble. This kind of exercise often feels really good, like when you take a big stretch in the morning after waking up. Being flexible is having "full range of motion," which means you can move your arms and legs freely without feeling tightness or pain. It's easy to find things to do for good flexibility

I don't think that anybody would dispute the fact we need to take some regular exercise, but only about 30% of people in the United States are currently getting the recommended level of thirty minutes exercise a day and it is frightening to discover that 25% of Americans today take very little or no exercise at all.

So what does this have to do with type 2 diabetes?

In recent years, in large part as a result of lower levels of activity, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who are overweight in the United States and indeed obesity in America has now reached epidemic proportions. One major side-effect of this is that, as weight rises, so does insulin resistance and the onset of type 2 diabetes.

If you are skeptical about the connection between weight and diabetes then you only need to look at the latest statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services which show that a staggering 80% of people suffering from type 2 diabetes are also classed as being clinically overweight.

If we are to reverse the rising trend in the number of people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes then we must attack one of its root causes which is increasing weight. In turn, this means looking carefully at our diet but, just as importantly, looking at the amount of exercise we take to burn off the calories we are eating.

Perhaps the biggest problem whenever anyone mentions exercise is that it conjures up a picture of having to put on a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt and jog around the local park or join those fitness fanatics down at the local gym. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Of course you can go jogging if you want to, or join your local gym, but there are numerous other options open to you.

The secret is simply to add activity into your daily routine which stretches you physically. Not to the point at which you feel you are about to collapse, but simply to the point at which you are aware of making your body do a bit of extra work.

So what sort of things are we talking about?

Well, if you live in an apartment on the fifth floor, use the stairs instead of taking the lift. If you ride the bus to work, get off a couple of stops early and walk the last part of your journey. If your garden is in need of attention, get out once or twice a week and push the mower around, do some weeding or dig over the vegetable patch.

This list of exercise opportunities is virtually endless and it doesn't really matter how you get your exercise. What is important is that you look carefully at your lifestyle and, in particular, at your daily routine and try to work in at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Combine this with taking a close look at your eating habits and both your weight and the problems associated with type 2 diabetes will begin to fall.

Article Source : life fitness elliptical trainers

About Author

Both Peter sams & Donald Saunders are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Peter sams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Makeup, Allergies and Skin Care. Read about and. Peter sams's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Donald Saunders has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health Insurance, Forex Training and Diabetes Treatment. Diabetes-Treatment-And-Cure.com provides information on all aspects of including both type 1 diabetes treatment and. Donald Saunders's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.