a better you
THE REAL GIFTS THAT EXERCISE GIVES YOU
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eight loss should not be the primary reason you decide to exercise. Wait, what? That’s right, your holiday and new year’s resolutions of working out have 3 benefits in common. Let’s be clear, exercise does support weight loss when it’s paired with a good diet. Exercise is a fantastic sidekick, but not an adequate hero in your weight loss story. So What Else Does Exercise Do? This article is rooted in the reality that our bodies were not designed to run, jump, lift, push, pull, and endure for the sole purpose of shrinking back down to fit into our old clothes. Our bodies are engineered to perform complex functional movements as we adapt to the conditions around us. Here are three key benefits your body can receive when it’s put through physical activities beyond your day to day movements. Improved Insulin Sensitivity The first major benefit of exercise, especially resistance and higher intensity training, is improved insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance is the metabolic indicator of prediabetes. Over time, full blown type 2 diabetes can develop. Insulin resistance can happen independently as a result of being overweight or obese. Diet plays a big part in this too. Exercise stimulates glucose to uptake by skeletal muscle, which is important. In order to deplete the store of glycogen in your muscles, you have to use your muscles. That makes room for more muscles to develop over time. This means less insulin is going to your fat cells, liver, and circulating in your blood. Exercise can increase insulin sensitivity for at least 16 hours after activity in those with or without type 2 diabetes. The higher the intensity in your workout, the better. Add in challenging components to your workout routine that cause you to push, pull, or work on an incline.
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Bone Health A non-traditional benefit to exercise is that it helps your bone health. Bones are living tissues that change over time in response to the forces you place upon them. When you exercise regularly, your bones adapt by building more bones and becoming denser. Activities such as jumping, weight training, plyometrics, stairs, and high impact aerobics are good ways to increase the benefit of bone density, improved balance, and coordination. Mood, Sleep, and Stress Relief Here are a few more reasons to exercise often. Factors like your: mood, sleep, and stress relief get overlooked. Physical activity and exercise stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These are chemicals in the brain that play an important part in regulating your mood. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall sense of well-being. It can also help improve your appetite and sleep cycles. This helps to combat depression as well. Regular exercise helps balance your body’s level of stress hormones such as adrenaline. As a bonus, when you look at exercise for these additional benefits and not just weight loss, you avoid the frustration of stepping on the scale. After each workout, don’t let the scale mislead you into thinking that your hard work is not paying off. This holiday season, get a head start on your 2022 goals by giving yourself the gift of better health. Start with going up and down stairs daily. Increase your body weight strength by doing squats and push-ups in between zoom calls. In addition, try resistance band workouts while you watch your favorite show. The important thing is to start moving and keep moving. Not only is exercise a gift for yourself, it may also be the example your family can follow on their way to better health as well.u
PHOTO BY YAROSLAV SHURAEV FROM PEXELS
By Marcus Bailey
WWW.THEBLACKINHR.COM
