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Benefits to Exercise - What Are They?
Exercise -- the "e" word. There are benefits to exercise though. Even if you hate the though of exercise at the moment, read along. You just might be surprised!
Benefits to Exercise #1: Lose Weight
Now be honest -- you want to lose weight, permanently. A three day diet is great to jump-start a weight loss, but it's not a long-term solution.
If you want to lose the weight and then keep it off, you'll need to do at least a little exercise. Not to worry -- you don't have to become an Olympic contender. To start, just get up off the couch and move some. And here are some easy exercises at home to help you get up and get moving!
Exercise Benefit #2: Burn More Calories All the Time
When you exercise, you're building up some muscle. While fat doesn't burn any calories (it just sits around, taking up space), muscles do. A little extra muscle equals a few more calories per day burned, without you eating any less. These facts alone are great benefits to exercise!
Check out the exercising tips at home page for more ideas for burning calories!
Benefit # 3: Tone Your Body
You don't have to end up looking like a bodybuilder with an exercise program (although you can if you want). You can shape and tone your body instead.
Imagine feeling sleek and not lumpy. Having your jeans fit without you laying on the bed to zip them up. Not being afraid to wear sleeveless tops anymore.
Toning your body is easy these days, and you can do it in the comfort of your own home with resistance bands, extercise balls, light free weight training and more.
Benefits to Exercise #4: Have More Energy
It seems strange that exercise, which can make us tired, can also give more energy. Once your body develops a little muscle and toning, it doesn't have to work as hard in your everyday life. Things become easier to do.
Just think -- instead of sinking into a chair exhausted when you get home from work, you can still have energy to get through the evening. And then go to sleep and rest well.
Exercise Benefit #5: Help Your Heart
Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer in the United States? If you don't want to become that kind of statistic, give your heart a hand.
Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart muscle, enabling it to pump the blood with less effort. In other words, it wears out slower. These are more great benefits to exercise, especially aerobically.
Aerobic exercise doesn't mean you have to join a gym or go to a step class or anything. You can do anything that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up for at least 10 miutes. That can be walking, biking, dancing, an exercise video -- whatever your choice.
In the Immortal Words of Nike -- Just Do It!
I know that exercise isn't always fun and sometimes hard to fit into your schedule. But the benefits to exercise outweighs the time it takes.
Tell you what -- how about you just take 5 minutes a day to start. Walk around the block, dance around the house to your favorite music, jump rope, use resistance bands -- anything. You should be able to fit in 5 minutes somewhere.
Then start doing 5 minutes twice a day, separately or together. Keep working up until you are doing at least 20 minutes a day.
Once you've fit 20 minutes a day into your schedule, make some of it aerobic. Walk faster, dance harder, pop in an aerobic exercise video or DVD -- whatever suits you.
Like to play video games? Use Nintendo's Wii to lose weight!
The benefits to exercise can be enormous, both right now and long-term. Take advantage of it!
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All information presented on this site is for educational purposes only, and is not meant for anyone under 18, pregnant, nursing or under supervision of a physician for a medical condition.
For specific weight loss and fitness questions, or for medical advice and treatment, always consult your medical practitioner.