Regular exercise routine is one of the sure shot habit of highly successful people. It keeps a person energetic and healthy while also inculcates sense of discipline and determination. Learn about why it is important to exercise and how it is beneficial for physical / mental health and social wellbeing.
Health is wealth and we all would agree to it. Good health makes us happy and we can enjoy the life uninterruptedly. Good food and regular fitness routine are key to good health. It is important to inculcate habit of daily exercise in our routine.
You may choose the exercise that you love. Decide if you would like to do Zumba or jog around the park. Every physical activity has its own unique benefits. Read here about how to choose the right exercise for you.
How often to do exercise?
The number of days to exercise and time depends on your goals, type of exercise and your current level of fitness.
General recommendation for cardiovascular exercise is 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise for 5 days per week or 25 minutes of high intensity exercise for 3 days per week. Cardiovascular exercise help to burn calories, lose weight and improves cardiovascular health.
Strength training is to be done on basis of the level of current fitness of individual.
The beginner requires 2-3 days of strength training involving full body session.
The intermediate shall need to train focused body parts for 3-4 days per week. The split may also be done as upper body / lower body workouts.
An advanced level athlete needs to train 4-5 days per week to build enough volume. The number of sets, reps shall be determined based on the current goal.
All the above are general recommendations suitable for majority of population. A person can plan and alter his workout based on his specific goals.
What is the best time to exercise?
There are independent studies that suggest that morning, afternoon or night are better for workout. All of them scientifically backed. So science has no clear answer of when should you workout. Let us see the pros and cons of each to help you decide which is the best time for workout.
Working out in the morning means that you tick it off your to-do list before any distraction or commitment strikes. So there are more chances of sticking to routine. Working out on empty stomach also helps to burn more calories. The metabolism is revved up early in the day so one may burn more calories throughout the day. It also boost your energy levels and kick starts your day on a good note.
Working out in afternoon or night means that you can cut down the time of warm-up as you are already active for last few hours. Afternoon workouts also help you avoid the slump that you usually feel after lunch. Working out at night may boost your energy and you may find it little difficult to sleep soon after heavy workout. You will have better energy and may be better focused during night.
Bottomline is choose the timing that suits you the most. What matters is how well it fits in your regular routine and how consistently can you follow it.
How often to do exercise for weight loss? What is the best time to exercise for weight loss?
All the above recommendation stands good when the goal is weight loss. However, what matters most is to eat in calorie deficit to lose weight. So along with physical activity it is important to equally focus on amount of calorie intake.
Also it is important to be consistent in diet and workouts to see any major change. So it matters less how many days per week you workout or what time of day you workout, if you are not eating in calorie deficit or if you are not consistent in your diet and workout, you are not going to lose weight.
Why is it Importance to exercise?
Let us delve deep to understand how exercises impact our physical, mental and social wellbeing.
Exercise boosts energy
Exercise improves the energy levels. Cardiovascular exercise increases the number of mitochondria produced. Mitochondria is powerhouse of cell in the body. So exercise increase the available energy in our body.
It also positively affects the metabolism in our body. The blood flow in our body is increased during exercise. Improved metabolism and blood flow shall increase our energy level which can be better fueled with healthy food.
Exercise makes you alert and keeps you energetic through the rest of the day.
Regular workout aids in weight loss
Regular exercise helps in weight loss. With every exercise, there is increase in calorie expenditure. Total number of calories burned determine amount of weight lost. Exercise also increases metabolism. It also aids in increase of lean body mass. Increase in lean body mass will help you to burn more calories even while at rest.
Exercise promotes flexibility
Exercises such as yoga or stretching makes the body supple and flexible. It also improves range of motion, agility and balance. This helps in your day to day life to remain flexible and agile. And perform routine activities that require stretching or flexibility.
Exercise improves mood and reduces stress
Exercise increases serotonin in our body. Serotonin regulates our mood, sleep and appetite. It also helps the neurons to grow. This helps to fight depression.
Exercise also increases levels of endorphins which are chemicals produced in our body to relieve stress and pain. Endorphins also boost sense of pleasure and feeling of wellbeing in our body.
Exercising outdoors also has positive effect on our mood. It makes us feel aligned with nature and freshens our mind.
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Physical activity improves skin health
Exercise increases the rate of heart beat and improves blood circulation. Improved blood circulations helps to deliver the oxygen and nutrient to the skin which makes the skin healthy and glowing.
Sweating during exercises helps to carry out waste products including free radicals from the skin. This reduces incidence of acne production due to clogged cells.
Exercise also promotes collagen production and new skin cell production which works as anti-ageing and makes one look younger and glowing.
Exercise improves self confidence
Regular exercise brings weight loss. It increases stamina and strength and tones the body. So there is overall change in the aesthetic look of the body. This boost self-confidence. Person also experiences sense of self-control, discipline and determination in his fitness journey. This renewed enthusiasm shall help to trigger set and achieve other lifestyle goals in life.
Exercise boosts creativity
Aerobic exercises increase the flow of oxygen in the body and encourages growth of new brain cells in hippocampus. This growth in the hippocampus results in improved creativity. Hippocampus is responsible for imagination and creativity. So there is visible improvement in the creative skills of dancing, painting or even thinking due to improved cell growth in hippocampus.
Exercise increases brain function
Exercises increase hearth rate for there is more flow of oxygen to the brain. This aids in improved growth of brain cells. It also relieves stress and increases creativity. It also improves brain co-ordination and cognitive skills.
Practicing yoga and mindful meditation can significantly improve brain function and energy levels.
Exercise increases productivity
Increased productivity is an immediate consequence noticed by regular exercise routine. Exercises boosts energy, fights fatigues, relieves stress and improves health of a person. This makes the person more alert and productive throughout the day.
As the confidence levels of the person improves and there is more sense of discipline, person is ready to be more productive and focused towards his lifegoals.
Exercise improves quality of sleep
Hectic schedules and high levels of stress disrupt the sleep schedule of busy individual. Working out in morning or afternoon aids in improving the quality of sleep.
Exercise also boost serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone which helps to regulate the sleep cycle.
Exercise lengthens attention span
Exercising one of most effective ways to improve concentration, motivation, memory, and mood. It also reduces symptoms of ADHD. Every physical activity boosts the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels. This improves the level of focus and attention.
Regular workout makes bones and muscle stronger
Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones. Regular intake of protein along with strength training improves the lean mass. It counters the effects of sacropenia – degeneration of muscles due to ageing.
Exercise aids in release of hormones that promote the ability of your muscles to absorb amino acids. This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown.
Exercise also helps to improve bone density in growing age, in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life.
Strong bones and muscles helps to prevent injuries and provide better balance to the body.
Exercise strengthens and tones body
Exercise tones the body. Muscles get better definition and look firm. It makes one look lean and aesthetic. This is one of the major motivating factor to start and continue working out especially strength training.
Exercise improves multitasking and planning
This is surprising, isnt it? People with a higher cardiorespiratory fitness level showed greater brain activation in the frontal lobe. The frontal lobes perform the function of voluntary movement, linguistic skill and cognitive skills including capacity to plan, organize, initiate and execute.
Regular physical activity prevents many health conditions and diseases
Weight gain results in many lifestyle diseases. Proper weight management along with regular exercise helps to improve your overall health, fitness and quality of life. It also helps reduce your risk of chronic conditions like Type II diabetes, heart disease, depression, anxiety and also dementia. It helps in better management of osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
Final note
Now that we have discussed why it is important to exercise, I would like to hear from you about your experience. Let me know how you have benefitted from inculcating regular fitness routine. If you have not yet built fitness routine, what are the challenges that you are facing? What is stopping you from working out every day or from including regular physical activity in your life?
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Let me know in the comments below, what would you like to improve in your self.
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