Why Regular Exercise Is Important
There are many reasons why regular exercise is important. The main reason is that it builds self confidence. Those of us that have struggled with obesity and weight problems typically also struggle with self confidence. The trend of body shaming hasn’t helped this any.
Self confidence is important because it makes us feel better mentally and emotionally which positively affects our behaviors, personal relationships, professional endeavors, and improves our overall quality of life. Any activity that boosts our self confidence is good for us.
Exercising regularly is one of the best ways to improve our self confidence. It also has excellent health benefits that also contribute to our level of self confidence.
Weight Management
A healthy balance of diet and exercise is the best way to manage your weight. Whether you need to gain weight or lose weight, a regular exercise program can help to meet and maintain your weight goals.
If you are overweight, you want to burn more energy than you take in through food as being overweight destroys your confidence. The better shape you are in, the better you will feel.
Stress Management
If you suffer from stress and anxiety, you should really focus on understanding why regular exercise is important. Emotionally, there’s nothing that reduces stress and anxiety like a good workout does.
It could be a brisk walk or a morning jog…whatever you’re able to fit into your schedule. Any activity that makes your body physically work harder can be a workout. The exercise stimulates brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin which helps promote that feeling of overall wellbeing which, in turn, reduces the stress and anxiety.
I gotta tell ya, since I started exercising every day, things aren’t bothering me like they used to. Nothing is as dire as it was or as extreme. I like that.
Heart Health
Any cardiologist can give you multiple reasons for why regular exercise is important because it greatly reduces the risk of many heart-related issues. It has already been proven that exercising regularly lowers blood pressure, reduces diabetes related issues, and helps to fight heart disease.
It’s common sense really…if exercise helps us to lose weight, then our heart doesn’t have to work as hard and stays much healthier. Losing weight also helps take some of the pressure on the joints and other areas of the body which is important as we age.
Being In Shape
What does this even mean? It’s not exactly the same as weight management. Keeping your body in shape is more about toning your muscles and improving posture and balance.
All of these relate to self confidence and the more tone or in-shape you are, the more confident you’ll feel. The better you fell, the more confident you’ll be. The more confident you are, the easier it will be for you to connect with friends and be social.
More Energy
We have enough chores in our life already, but when we don’t have the energy to get through them…it makes us even more miserable as we start the feelings of failure because we didn’t accomplish what we needed to.
The whole body works more effectively when you exercise and you wind up having more energy to get those chores done. More energy, in my book, is one of the best reasons why regular exercise is important.
Better Sleep
This is a big one for me as I suffer with sleep apnea. I’ve talked to many people that have had sleep apnea and were overweight. One thing they all agreed on was that the sleep apnea got better when they lost the excess weight.
Your doctor will tell you the same thing. It has been proven that regular exercise not only promotes good sleep but that it is essential for general feelings of well-being. Good sleep also improves how we look…which in turn improves how we feel about ourselves. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked in the mirror and saw myself in raccoon form.
That being said, don’t go exercising and getting your body all worked up right before bedtime. We can all tell you that it tends to make you hyper instead of sleepy, exercise energizes…remember?
Productivity Increase
Exercising regularly also helps you clear your mind. Big deals become small shoulder shrugs and you start to see things in a better perspective. You stop sweating the small stuff so to speak. I’ve noticed this improvement in myself just recently after a few different cases of disappointing news.
Motivation
Once you’re able to get yourself on a regular exercise schedule, you start looking forward to it. Beck and I call this “me time” because we’re focusing on improving me. I’ve found that I start scheduling the rest of the world around my gym time. The gym is most important to me because it’s me time.
Going to the gym helps my confidence because I know I’m working on improving me. I see small changes regularly. I lose a pound here or an inch there, I lift a little more this week than I did last week. My muscles aren’t burning as much as they were last month. Each of these baby steps is progress toward my goal and that makes me feel better about myself.
I know that in the end I’ll look and feel better as I’m already seeing changes. That just motivates me even more to exercise regularly and get to the gym.
Better Concentration
Studies show that regular exercise also helps to improve concentration. In fact, doctor’s are fighting the fact that public schools took away recess because of how it affects focus and concentration in children. My son has ADHD and his neuropsychologist recommends 20 jumping jacks when he’s having trouble concentrating. It works great!
That Feeling of Accomplishment
Every single work out I’ve done has given me the sense of accomplishment. Even when I didn’t finish the full routine, I got further than I did the previous time. I did something to better myself. I accomplished something!
There are so many different benefits to your health and wellness, that’s why regular exercise is important. It’s very important. Working out takes hard work, dedication, commitment, and valuing yourself. Improving each of these things naturally leaves us feeling accomplished and confident.
Knowing why regular exercise is important should help motivate you to get your workouts done. Set a schedule for yourself. Try different exercises and different programs until you find one that makes you feel great! There are many to choose from:
- Aerobics
- Belly Dancing
- Biking
- Cardio
- Crossfit
- HIIT
- Pilates
- Running
- Skating
- Walking
- Weight Lifting
- Yoga
- Zumba
Now we’re not suggesting you become an exercise addict or anything like that. But if you really want to be a fit badass, you should have a well balanced mix of diet and exercise. It should not demotivate you but should rather energize you. So find something that is fun for you and stick with it!
Definitely let us know about your journey, we want to hear what you’re up to. So scroll on down and drop a comment in to let us know how your journey is coming along…even if you’re just getting started.
Most importantly, forget skinny…train to be a fit badass!
~Ki
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