Fitness Goals: The Top 10 Health Benefits of Exercise
If your fitness goals include exercising - but you have to force yourself to do it - try focusing on the benefits of exercise, and you’ll be more likely to stay motivated and healthy! Here are the top 10 health benefits of exercise…and trust me, you’ll never regret going the extra mile.
First, a cute quip about exercise from Ellen DeGeneres….
“I don’t really need buns of steel,” said DeGeneres. “I’d be happy with buns of cinnamon.”
Yum yum….but buns of cinnamon are exactly fitness goals. For a cool way to exercise, click on the Wii Fit image. And, read on to achieve your fitness goals by learning about the health benefits of exercise…
Fitness Goals: The Top 10 Health Benefits of Exercise
1. Clear skin. Regular physical activity promotes circulation and sends nutrients to your skin, making breakouts of acne less frequent. Plus, acne clears up faster if you’re regularly sending oxygen to your skin by exercising. So, good skin is a huge health benefit of exercise.
2. Better sleep. You’re more likely to achieve your fitness goals if you’re rested and energized! It’s an upward spiral: good sleep leads to a healthier body, and a healthier body leads to better sleep. As long as you don’t exercise two hours before bed, you’ll get better, deeper sleep if you exercise regularly. You’ll also fall asleep faster.
3. Less stress. The more you exercise, the better you’ll cope with anxiety, stress and depression. You’ll enjoy more of the naturally induced happy, positive hormones (endorphins). You’ll feel happier, more productive, and centered in your life…which is a huge health benefit of exercise.
4. Delicious food. If you exercise regularly, you can indulge in your favorite gourmet chocolates without feeling guilty. Okay, that’s not really a health benefit of exercise, it’s more of a side benefit - but indulging in delicious food is good for your emotional state of being! So there…being able to eat delicious food is a health benefit of exercise after all…and it may also be a great reason to stick with your fitness goals.
5. More brain cells. Exercise drives more oxygen to feed your brain, which helps you think quickly and clearly. Learning new physical activities such as dance or jazzercise - or doing Wii Fit - builds new connections between your brain cells and helps clear environmental toxins.
6. Increased confidence levels. Not only will you have more confidence in yourself if you exercise regularly, you’ll be perceived as kinder, smarter and more confident. Feeling good about yourself is one of the best reasons to exercise.
7. Toned, defined muscles. The more you exercise, the stronger and healthier your muscles will become - and the better they’ll serve you now and as you get older. It’s not all about healthy weight loss: feeling toned and fit is an excellent benefit of exercise, which should motivate you to stick with your fitness goals!
8. Better sex. Physical activity sends more blood to all parts of your body, making you respond more quickly to your partner’s touch. You’ll enjoy sex more not only because you’re enjoying healthy weight loss - you’ll also be more confident about your body. More satisfaction with your partner is one of the best reasons to exercise!
9. Stronger immune system. Regular exercise helps combat those nasty free radicals, and makes you sweat, which releases the toxins that trigger disease and infections. Plus, the health benefits of exercise include lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol levels, and a lower heart rate. Remember how healthy you’ll be when you’re working towards your fitness goals.
10. Increased energy. Physical activity not only helps with weight loss, it’s also a great way to increase your energy levels. Having energy to enjoy life is definitely a benefit of exercise - maybe one of the best!
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Comment by Brenda Stewart on 24 October 2008:
Great advice.
Comment by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen on 1 November 2008:
Exercise also makes you more creative. For instance, I come up with great ideas for articles and even book ideas when I run! Honestly, if we just focus on the benefits of exercise, we’ll keep doing it….and we’ll look and feel better about ourselves…