There are certain things we do every day to maintain our bodies and practice good hygiene. You shower every day, right? Brush your teeth at least twice per day? These healthy habits have been instilled in us since childhood. They're so routine that you probably don't even think about it or have to "make time" for them. You just do it. Our technologically advanced society has essentially eliminated the need for physical activity, so it's time to add another healthy habit to your daily routine. EXERCISE!
But there's no way you have time to exercise every day, right? Wrong. There is no need to spend hours at the gym - all you need is 20-30 minutes at home each day to gain the many health benefits of daily exercise. It’s well worth setting this time aside each day - your life literally depends on it. Eventually exercising daily should be as routine as taking a shower or brushing your teeth.
It’s time to get moving every day - Here’s why!
1. Reduced Risk of Developing Chronic Disease
This is the biggest reason to start exercising daily. The research shows that consistent exercise is associated with reduced risk of developing chronic disease, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even some cancers. Try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio every day, or less if you're exercising vigorously. There is a linear relationship between exercise and reduced risk of chronic disease - that is, the more activity you do, the lower your risk for chronic disease. The fact is, most chronic diseases are largely preventable. To a great extent, can take your health into your own hands - so start exercising daily!
2. Elevated Energy and Mood
If you're feeling low on energy, bogged down, or stressed out, try adding exercise to your daily routine - you'll be shocked at how good you feel! Individuals who exercise consistently tend to sleep better, have lower rates of depression, stress, and anxiety, and have elevated energy and mood. This is an important reason to start exercising daily, because you'll feel these effects immediately!
3. Weight Loss and Maintenance
The research shows that doing regular cardiovascular exercise greatly reduces risk of developing chronic disease whether or not you actually lose any weight. That’s pretty cool. But there are additional health benefits to lowering body fat - not to mention you'll look and feel better too! If you need to lose a few pounds to achieve a healthy body weight, it's time to start exercising daily. The calories you burn during exercise contribute to the calorie deficit needed to achieve and maintain weight loss.
4. You'll have a stronger heart.
Daily physical activity literally exercises your cardiopulmonary system to be stronger and more efficient. Over time your body and organs will undergo very real change. Your heart will be stronger and more efficient, and your muscles will consume oxygen more efficiently, placing less stress on the heart and lungs. Accordingly, daily exercise also helps lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. Luckily the heart is a muscle - exercise it!
5. Stronger muscles, bones, and joints
Remember, a well-rounded exercise plan requires more than just cardio - full body resistance training is recommended 2-3 days per week. Why? Lifting weights improves the overall function of your musculoskeletal system, and comes with a number of health benefits as well. You’ll have stronger and healthier bones and reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis. Resistance training helps to increase muscle size and tone, and has been shown to reduce joint pain. So if you're suffering from the aches and pains of life, try adding a safe resistance training regimen to your weekly routine!
6. Improved Balance and Mobility
Inactivity can cause the muscles to tighten and weaken, resulting in poor balance and mobility. Incorporating functional fitness and flexibility exercises into your weekly routine helps to increase strength, stability, range of motion, and motor ability. This will make you stronger and more stable as you go about your day, making normally difficult tasks easier to perform. You'll move better, have improved overall physical function, and be less prone to injury - all good reasons to start exercising regularly!
7. You'll live longer!
Research shows that regular exercisers tend to live longer than those who do not exercise. Woah.
That's right - regular exercise is associated with lower all-cause mortality. In fact, individuals who exercise an hour per day have a 40% lower risk of dying early than those who are inactive. Indeed, daily physical activity has such a large impact on your health that it actually increases your chance of living longer. What better reason to start exercising every day? Exercising regularly and correctly can literally add years to your life - this means more time with family and loved ones!
8. Improved quality of life
Whether it’s playing with your kids, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, cleaning, or socializing, daily exercise will make all of your activities of daily living much easier. This means you can enjoy the things you love doing every day even more, greatly improving your quality of life. Daily exercise will also help lower your risk of developing functional limitations later in life, allowing your to live independently and do the things you love to do into old age.
We could have easily added many, many more reasons to start exercising daily to this list, but these are some of our favorite! If you're not exercising regularly, it's time to take your health into your own hands. A well-rounded, daily exercise plan is one of the best things you can do for your health and quality of life. If you have time to shower and brush your teeth, you have time to exercise!
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