wgy body exercising?

Why Bother Exercising?

Ask someone who doesn’t pay much attention to health about the reasons for exercising, and they’ll probably give two answers: to get stronger, and to lose weight. Well, exercise does make your muscles stronger, and it does help you lose weight. But doctors wouldn’t put exercise among the top things to do for your health if it didn’t have many other benefits.

So what exactly is the point of exercise? Glad you asked! When you exert yourself during a mild, moderate, or intense physical activity, literally every cell of your body is affected in a positive way.Here are just some of the ways that exercise makes your body healthier, more resilient, and more efficient.

You reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Exercise doesn’t just strengthen muscles; it improves heart, lung, and circulatory functions, by working harder to deliver oxygen and glucose to your muscles. That means fitness increases your endurance, lowers your blood pressure, and helps your heart to contract and expand more effectively. This powerful triumvirate works to knock down the amount of LDL “bad” cholesterol in your bloodstream, the kind most likely to stick to artery walls, causing heart attacks or strokes.

Your insulin sensitivity improves. When you exercise, your cells need to pull more blood sugar from your arteries for fuel, so your cells become more sensitive to insulin. Plus, by having more muscle, your everyday blood-sugar uptake increases, and your ability to store glucose improves. These are huge benefits to people with diabetes.

Your metabolism revs up. Your body not only burns a large amount of calories while it’s sweating and moving, but muscle tissue is a large consumer of calories, even at rest. So calorie burning increases around the clock.

Your body builds stronger bones. Bodies that exercise create more calcium and nitrogen, two bone-building minerals. They also experience less of a decline in bone mineral density, meaning you reduce the chances of eventually getting osteoporosis.

Your psychological well-being improves. And so does your perceived sense of happiness. Exercise reduces levels of stress-related hormones and releases endorphins, hormones that give us that blissful, elated feeling.

And so does your brainpower. Research suggests that exercise is beneficial to your brain function, in part because exercise improves blood flow and decreases stress chemicals in your body—two things that measurably help you think better.

You protect your joints. Strong abs protect your back; strong leg muscles protect your knees and hips; strong arm and chest muscles protect your shoulders and elbows. Exercise is particularly important for preventing and treating arthritis.

You improve flexibility and balance. This is particularly important for older folks; being fit makes them less prone to falls and slips. And when they do occur, your body is better prepared to deal with them. Beyond that, being fit makes the twists and turns of everyday life—such as getting in and out of cars, or navigating a crowded airport—so much easier.

And we haven’t even gotten to the obvious benefits of weight loss, strength, and overall vitality. Given all these benefits, can you think of a valid reason not to sweat a little?