LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF REGULAR EXERCISE
- Cheriece DeCou
- Jan 20, 2023
- 2 min read
Keeping healthy habits over time isn’t easy—but it is worth it.
Once you push past the first few weeks of starting a new fitness program, you probably start to notice some changes in how you feel.
You might feel challenged to stay motivated—changing up your workouts is a necessary component of a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to feeling energized and positive about your progress, regular physical activity is shown to provide a bundle of physical benefits: Overall Health improves with exercise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ongoing exercise can help:
Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers
Control weight
Strengthen bones and muscles
Improve mental health and mood
Improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls
Increase your chances of living longer
Exercise can make a positive impact on aging
Harvard Medical School compares the effects of aging with the effects of exercise—and demonstrates that exercise can influence how your quickly your body grows older. For example, with age:
Resting heart rate increases—exercise can help decrease resting heart rate.
The speed at which intestines empty decreases—exercise can help increase speed.
Metabolic rate decreases—exercise can help increase metabolism.
Body fat increases—exercise can help decrease body fat.
The risk of depression increases—exercise can help decrease this risk.
Consistency is key
To realize the benefits of exercise, it’s critical that you participate in physical activity regularly. For example, running five miles on one day and then skipping workouts for the next two weeks doesn’t work that well. Exercising sporadically can decrease motivation, decrease endurance and increase injury.
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