Nowadays, many people spend much of their money on diet pills, exercise devices, and misrepresented health or fitness products, which guarantees few pounds off your weight. But in reality, you do not need to spend that much to be in shape. In fact a good set of weights and a brisk walk is all you need to get the body you’ve ever wanted.
We all know that exercise is good for us, whether you are talking about resistance training, Pilates, Yoga, cardiovascular activities, or any other form of routines; they all have a positive effect on our well-being. But doing those is another question. We can always find an excuse not to exercise: too much work, not enough time, or just too tired. A busy lifestyle is a common trait today and squeezing an active routine to that busy schedule is just impossible. But a 7 minute workout every two days would not be that much of a dent off your time. All it takes is 7 minutes and you get the benefits of having a healthy and fit body.
However, the main incentive to make you start exercising is overall natural health improvement. It can help you not only in your physical well-being, but with mental health as well. Here are some top reasons to motivate you to exercise:
Slows Aging
Being younger than our actual age is what we always want- we don’t want to be old. Do you know that the primary reason why elderly people end up in nursing homes is because they lose the ability to think and move on their own. Do we want that? Until we retire, that is. Once we don’t have to go to work anymore, or deal with scheduling and lifestyle issues, suddenly the only thing that we have to think about is whether to watch game shows or soap operas all day long, and the only exercise we get is deftly flying our fingers over the remote control. Studies have shown regular exercise slows down the aging process. So get in shape now!
Weight control: Regular physical activity helps people lose excess weight or stay at a reasonable weight; exercise increases metabolism and burns calories. Duke University research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that overweight, sedentary adults who began exercising lost visceral fat, or at least did not gain more. Those who did not exercise, however, gained more in just six months.
For everyone else, here is a newsflash: In America today – the year 2004 – obesity related health conditions account for more deaths in the United States each year than all known forms of cancer combined. Heart Disease alone is the number one killer of American adults, and it is a preventable condition.
Boosts Self-esteem
Okay, so you’ve determined that you aren’t exactly Olympic athlete material. So what? You don’t even like sports, let alone being very good at them. That’s fine, and there is nothing wrong with that. So what about fat? Do you like bodyfat? Do you find it physically appealing? Do you think it’s healthy? How about self-esteem? 64% of Americans are overweight. That is almost two-thirds of the population. If you think that a figure like that and the skyrocketing sales of prescription anti-depressants aren’t related, you now have a second opportunity to stop reading this article and continue on with your day.
Increase flexibility, muscle strength and endurance: Health studies have proven that strength training increases muscle strength and mass and decreases fat tissue.
Bone strength and prevention of osteoporosis: An active lifestyle benefits bone density thus making it more stronger and withstand high impact activities .
Stronger immune system: The findings from some studies support the possibility that exercise may delay immunosenescence; an age related decline of the immune system’s function.
Better sleep: Daily exercise can serve as relaxation and stress relieving activity. It can improve the quality and quantity of sleep. It helps you by having a quicker sleep-onset, and longer sleep duration thus giving you a more rested mind and body.
Chronic back pain relief: By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture regular exercise helps to prevent lower back pain, middle back pain and upper back pain. Many exercise studies show that yoga, in particular, seems to help.
Personal stress management: Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals and hormones, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed.
Fight depression: Many studies show that exercise promotes positive mental health and reduces symptoms of depression.
Increase longevity: People who are physically active, live longer. Regular physical activity provides benefits to men and women of all ages.
New brain cell development: Exercise stimulates the formation of new brain cells called neurons. It also strengthens connections between those cells. The areas of the brain that are stimulated through long-term exercise are associated with memory and learning.
Cardiovascular disease prevention: Lack of physical activity is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. There is a direct relation between physical inactivity and cardiovascular death. Studies have shown, people who were physically active at least twice a week had a 41 percent lower risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) than those who performed no physical activity.
Cholesterol lowering: Physical exercise favourably influences blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol.
Type II Diabetes prevention and control: Exercise can promote healthy blood sugar levels in the body. There is strong evidence from randomized controlled studies (e.g. Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study and the Diabetes Prevention Program in the U.S.) that moderate physical activity combined with weight loss and balanced diet can confer a 50-60 percent reduction in risk of developing diabetes among those already at high risk.
Lower blood pressure: Low physical activity increases the risk of hypertension. Regular exercise training seems to be effective in reducing blood pressure.
Reduce stroke risk: Research data indicates that moderate and high levels of physical activity may reduce risk of total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic strokes. According to a study in the December 2007 issue of Neurology, published by the American Academy of Neurology, people who have good physical function after the age of 40 may lower their risk of stroke by as much as 50 percent compared to people who are not able to climb stairs, kneel, bend, or lift as well.
Exercise without a healthy nutrition program is not effective or even will do harm than good to you. You must pair up your routine with healthy and natural foods. The 7 minute workout program will provide a good combination of weight resistance, cardiovascular training, and healthy nutrition program to help you achieve your optimum capacity.
1) Weight/Resistance Training – Weight training for both men and women has the same effect – it makes your muscles more metabolically active. In simpler terms, it means your muscles will burn more calories – even when you are sleeping. Muscle is the only site on your body where bodyfat is broken down. Weak muscles = weak metabolism. Weak metabolism = slow calorie burning.
2) Cardiovascular Training – Contrary to popular belief, this type of training is meant to help your cardio-respiratory system function more effectively, and ultimately to last longer. Does it burn a lot of calories? Sure it does. However, if you don’t combine it with resistance training and supportive nutrition, you’ll likely just burn off water weight and the muscle tissue that you worked so hard for up in step number 1.
3) Healthy Nutrition Program – Quality sources of complex and fibrous carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, and lean sources of protein. Eat those nutrients in reasonable proportions frequently throughout your day, and your metabolism (refer again to #1) will crank up to high, and you’ll be burning more calories on a day to day basis than you ever have before in your life.
So far we have seen that not only can exercise keep us out of a nursing home, but it can also keep off excess levels of bodyfat which will – literally – keep us alive. We haven’t even touched on sports performance, recreational activities, improved energy levels, ability to focus, or many of the other benefits of a regular exercise program.
Everyone exercises for different reasons. The bottom line is to start slowly and then make it a part of your lifestyle. Follow the 7 minute workout for every two days; do it and start taking steps to improve your body and mind’s natural health.