Nov165 Benefits of Exercise You Might Not Know About
The many benefits of exercise is a long list. Building muscle or dropping body fat are 2 of the most obvious ones, and are often the main reasons for someone starting a fitness routine. But the truth is that there are many benefits that exercise can give.
Some of these on this list you may have heard of, and in that case it will be a good refresher. If you haven’t heard of these, then it’ll be a great learning experience.
Increased hormone function and regulation.
Regular exercise – both cardio and resistance training – has a positive effect on hormones (1). It boosts testosterone, helps regulate estrogen in women, and increases our insulin function.
Proper hormone function is important for not only muscle gain and weight loss, but also for general health. So it’s like killing two (or rather multiple) birds with one stone. Exercise improves hormone function, and better regulated hormones increase the results you’re after.
Increases mental performance and function.
Exercise often requires complex movement. For example, let’s look at a simple goblet squat: in a goblet squat, you have multiple things going on – you need to keep an upright torso, your heels have to stay glued to the floor, you have to be aware of your knee positioning, plus it requires a bit a balance to pull off. All this, while also trying to stand up with a heavy weight in your hands.
Movement is much more complex than we give it credit for, and when we work out, we are working not only our bodies but our brains as well (2). Regular exercise has been shown to improve cognitive ability – which means your judgement is better, you’re able to handle complex tasks better, you’ll be better at problem solving, and pretty much anything that requires a little brain power.
You’ll heal faster.
A big boon that many people might not know about is increased healing. We aren’t talking Wolverine from X-Men healing, but many health professionals now recognize that movement helps the recovery process when dealing with certain injuries.
Back in the day, when you would pull a muscle in your back or sprain something, the usual prescription would be bed rest. Now, many doctors and physical therapist know that doing light movement as soon as possible improves recovery, because movement means better blood flow, which in turn carries nutrients to the injured site. It’s the same reason why active recovery is recommended when you’re sore from a workout; movement helps dissipate the soreness by increasing the speed of recovery.
Improves your love life.
You and your partner will both be thankful for the work you’ve been putting in at the gym. Exercise can improve your love life, both inside and outside the bedroom. Exercise will increase cardiorespiratory performance and blood flow, which is good news for you and your partner. And it doesn’t matter who you are, as this is true for both men and women. Plus, over time you’ll build muscle/drop fat, which usually means increased attraction (although you’re already a 10!).
And remember earlier when I said exercise improves hormone production? Well, better functioning hormones also have an effect on performance in the bedroom, so it’s a compounding effect. Also, you’ll be happier from stress relief from exercise, so you and your significant other will have a better relationship.
You’ll want to improve and get “stronger” in other areas of your life.
This is one that many people notice happens to them over time, and personally I think this is one of the best benefits of all; training makes you want to improve other areas of your life. Part of this is because exercise improves so many physical and mental functions that you’ll automatically improve in other areas. Another reason is because you realize that all it takes to get better at something is consistent practice.
When you’re training, you commit multiple days a week for an hour at a time to getting better, through physical effort. Through that effort, you start noticing positive changes, and you slowly reach your goals. From there, it simply becomes a matter of extrapolating that process to other areas of your life – and improving those as well.
Of course lifting weights isn’t going to allow you to learn how to play guitar, but consistent practice with the instrument is. If you want to build better eating habits, you need consistent effort. If you want to improve your career, you need consistent effort. And just like you increase weight slowly over time to become stronger, you become better by building your skills slowly. This idea isn’t anything new, but training helps bring it to the forefront. It becomes a catalyst for positive change, for self improvement.
So now that you have a better idea on how exercise improves your life, maybe you’ll be more likely to keep that routine going. If you think of anyone that might like this quick read, send them over to us. You can also check out the rest of the blog here for more quick tips and strategies when it comes to exercise, nutrition, and mindset.
Sources
- Exercise and Hormones: 8 Hormones Involved in Exercise. Ace Fitness. Aug. 10, 2015. https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/professional/expert-articles/5593/exercise-and-hormones-8-hormones-involved-in-exercise/
- How exercise supports your mental fitness: Current recommendations. University of Basel. April 16, 2020. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200416135913.htm