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The Power of Regular Activity

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What if we told you that you have the power to add years to your life span, perform daily activities easier or prevent disease and sickness?

The truth is we all have this power and it can all be accomplished through consistent, regular physical activity!

This can be planned exercise or any activity really that requires you to expend energy.

The power of regular movement, be it planned exercise or not, has many proven positive benefits. The more consistent the physical activity is, the greater the potential benefits.

Here is a brief list of what you can expect to achieve by introducing regular physical activity and movement into your lifestyle:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Improve cholesterol
  • Reduce your risk of heart disease
  • Reduce your risk of diabetes
  • Lose weight
  • Gain strength
  • Improve bone density
  • Improve range of motion
  • Stronger joints
  • Improve joint conditions (eg. arthritis)
  • Help with depression
  • Improve sleep
  • Increase longevity
  • Perform daily activities better/easier
  • Maintain independence
  • Reduce risk of some types of cancer
  • Improve cognitive abilities

This list could go on and on.

The human body was meant to work. Today we sit more then ever in the history of our existence so building regular physical activity and exercise into your life has become a necessity. The more we move and challenge our bodies, the more fit we become, the more efficient and effective we are and of course the healthier we are. So, get moving!

The “Spill Over” Effect of Exercise in Your Life

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When most of us think about the many benefits of regular exercise in our life we usually think of losing weight, getting stronger, or having better stamina, but they are typically some type of physical benefits.

Achieving these types of outcomes feels great. It changes how you look, how you feel and how you perform, and with that comes a huge increase in your confidence.

This confidence “spills over” into other areas of your life, into your work and your relationships. We hear it all of the time. Things like how losing weight gave them the confidence to get back into a dress they used to wear when they were in college, or getting stronger made them feel more confident in themselves to take a trip of a lifetime mountain climbing, or that they are a better husband, wife, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother because they are happier with themselves.

These kinds of benefits are priceless. This is what we mean when we say we want to help members achieve a superior quality of life. We are not only thinking of the physical benefits, but all of the other benefits that spill over into your everyday life as well.

Another example is how regular exercise creates discipline. Taking care of yourself, eating healthier, going to the gym, that all takes discipline. Again, becoming more disciplined will carry over and positively impact other areas in your life.

Whether you know it or not, building regular exercise into your life is helping you in more ways then is normally thought about. It not only has the power to change your physical appearance and abilities, but also who you are and how you live your life.

Is Exercise Really That Important? Really?

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Seeing how this is my 100th article, I guess I’d better make it a good one, so here it goes. I’m certain that everyone by now has heard that exercise should be a regular part of your weekly routine and why. Researchers have proof of how important it is because of what it does for your body systems and thus have been advocates of exercise for quite a while now.

Once you hear these things, you likely don’t want to hear them over and over again, so I won’t bore you with those, but, as researchers continue to do what they do best, they’ve actually come up with more and different reasons why regular exercise is so extremely important today more than ever before. These are fairly recent so I doubt you haven’t heard these ones before. So, without further a due, here they are:

These newly discovered benefits of exercise listed here are the result of legitimate, extensive, long term and documented research, some of which may get a bid technical, sorry.

1. People who continue to exercise well into their ripe old age live longer and stay healthier than those who stop moving and allow their muscles to waste away.

2. Exercise is a hermetic stressor (limited stress placed on your body to make yourself stronger). Therefore, exercise stimulates autophagy (the recycling of old, worn out cellular components, and a similar process called unfolded protein response (UPR). In the case of UPR, the cell degrades dysfunctional (misfolded) proteins, restoring the health of the cell. Rejuvenating the cells helps keep you young.

3. Regular exercise dramatically reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A study from 2018 showed that women who were physically fit at middle age were a whopping 90% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease even decades later.

4. Another study examined the effects of exercise on patients with early stage Alzheimer’s and found that it improved memory performance and even reduced atrophy of the hippocampus, the memory centers of the brain.

5. Exercise that uses the legs in particular stimulates brain cells keeping you alert and healthy into old age.

6. Exercise has a powerful effect on the immune system. This means that exercise causes you to produce more of the enzymes that support cellular and mitochondrial function.

7. Exercise helps prevent heart disease which can be attributed to its effects on your gut biome.

8. Exercise increases gut bacteria richness and diversity.

9. A recent report from the Harvard Medical School stated that for some adults struggling with depression, regular exercise works as well as prescription antidepressants.

See you at the gym!