1: Reduce Stress
Take a biiiiiiig breath in, pull your shoulders down from your ears, and let that breath gooooo. Feel better? One (among many) of the benefits of going to the gym is that it reduces stress by boosting your endorphins- which can be especially helpful during these stressful times! Any aerobic activity such as running, hiking, biking, or anything else that gets your heart rate up can get you that post workout buzz.
2: Boost Confidence
Establishing a regular exercise routine can lead to higher levels of confidence and self-satisfaction. There are endless opportunities to set goals for yourself and achieve them, and you’ll be taking care of yourself while doing it! One of the best ways to become confident in your body is by celebrating it with movement. Pair that with the satisfaction of reaching goals you’ve set for yourself, and you’ll find that exercise can be a great tool for boosting your confidence.
3: Longevity (bone + muscle density)
One long term benefit of exercise is that it can help prevent bone loss, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). The best exercises to protect those bones are resistance based exercises, such as weight lifting. Another bonus of weight lifting and regular movement is increased balance, proprioception, and strength. In the long run, this can help prevent falls and potential injuries from those falls.
4: Improved Memory
Good news if you love conditioning or HIIT days- they can help increase the size of your hippocampus, which is the area in your brain that assists with verbal memory and learning. This can be as simple as taking a brisk walk or even some intense house cleaning (you know, like the kind your mother made you do before you had house guests over).
5: Improved Sleep
Another one of the benefits of working out regularly is improved sleep! Sleep feeds into a lot of the other benefits discussed in this post, such as improved memory, reduced stress, and more. According to John Hopkins Medicine, moderate aerobic exercise can increase the amount of slow wave (deep) sleep you get. Almost any exercise can help with this, so pick your favorite form of movement and get in a good 30 minutes. Just make sure if you’re a late night mover that you exercise an hour or two before your bedtime- those endorphins we talked about earlier can keep you awake longer than you expected!
6: More Energy
You may be wondering- why do people go to the gym, anyways? How are they not exhausted for the rest of their day? The answer starts with our mitochondria (yes, THE powerhouse of the cell herself). Regular exercise can encourage your body to create more mitochondria, which use the food we consume and the oxygen we breathe to create fuel for our cells. So, the more mitochondria we have, the more energy stores we have. To put that simply: the more frequently you work out, the more energy you have ready.
7: Heart Health
Move aside, Cheerios. We have something better for your heart- movement! Both aerobic exercise and strength training can help keep your heart healthy. While aerobic exercise literally can train your heart to pump better, strength training can help improve your cholesterol levels and create more lean muscle mass.
8: Can Reduce Chronic Pain
According to Healthline, exercise can actually help reduce chronic pain by relieving inflammation and improving mobility. Improving core strength, for example, can help the body stabilize better and reduce pain in areas such as the low back. The same goes for strengthening glutes, which can begin to atrophy with long-term chair use. Combine strength training with stretching to improve mobility, and you’ve got a prescription free form of pain relief.
9: Lower Risk of Disease
It’s no secret that exercise keeps us healthy. According to the CDC, regular exercise can “reduce your risk of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, many types of cancer, depression and anxiety, and dementia.” As if we needed any more reason to get active! And remember, exercise doesn’t have to be complicated- it can be as simple as taking a short walk a few times a week.
10: Better Mood
Does the second year of the pandemic have you down in the dumps? Well, exercise just might help you navigate the existential dread about the future of humanity! According to the American Psychological Association (APA), “usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect.” Another one of the long term benefits of exercise is that it can help reduce both anxiety and depression. And, while research is still in the works about what type of exercise specifically helps most with mental health, with the myriad of other benefits, it is definitely worthwhile to add regular exercise into your regimen.
