For many people, the word exercise equates to torture or drudgery. There are so many better ways to spend time than to get up early and run or bike a couple of miles. Why would anyone want to go to a gym and be around those sweaty, smelly people? The reality, though, is that the body needs and craves regular exercise. The key is for the person to find some type of exercise that they enjoy and then do it.
Regular exercise is important at every stage of life. For adults, however, getting enough exercise becomes even more crucial. For most people, their metabolism starts to slow down as they move towards their thirties. This makes it even harder to keep those extra pounds off. Many people, especially those living in the West, also have poor diets. This, combined with a slower metabolism, means that many people are carrying more weight than is healthy. Eventually, this will take its toll. Someone who exercises regularly has a much better chance of maintaining their ideal weight.
Another reason that regular exercise is important is that people who work out regularly are much less prone to depression and tend to handle stress better. The chemicals that are released into our brains during a workout help to produce a more positive attitude. A person with an inactive lifestyle is much more likely to react negatively to stress, and become a candidate for depression. Many people react to stress in unhealthy ways by overindulging in alcohol or drugs. Exercise is a much more positive way to handle stress.
The leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease. Over twenty five percent of all deaths are related to some form of heart disease. While there are cases of heart disease that are genetic or hereditary, for the vast majority of people this disease can be prevented in two ways. The first of these is diet. High cholesterol is a powerful contributing factor to heart disease. As you get older this even becomes more critical. Individuals must monitor their diets to make sure that their cholesterol stays below two hundred. A yearly blood test is a good idea to find out what one’s cholesterol level is. This is usually a normal part of a yearly physical checkup.
The second way that heart disease can be prevented, and perhaps the most important, is through regular exercise. While lifting weights provides some cardio exercise, aerobic exercise is what is going to do your heart the most good. You can get this aerobic exercise through walking, running, biking, or swimming. Most gyms also offer classes such as Zumba, or some other type of dance workout.
While aerobic exercise is the key to having a healthy heart, strength training is also important for adults. Lifting weights offers many health benefits. One of these benefits is that those who lift weights regularly have much better bone density. As people age, they lose bone mass. Regular strength training will help keep the bones strong. This will be preventative medicine as the individual continues to age.
Another benefit to lifting weights is increased flexibility. Regular strength training helps provide important flexibility to a person’s back, legs, and shoulders. This flexibility is another important tool to protect a person from injury as they get older. A lack of flexibility can cause serious problems for adults as they move into their later years.
Regular exercise is important for everyone, but especially for adults. Many people do not like to exercise alone. In these cases, it works well if they can find a friend that will workout with them. An excellent choice for many people that are embarking on a new exercise regimen is to hire a personal trainer. Even if the person only hired the trainer for a few sessions, this is money well spent. The trainer can provide the individual with a customized workout plan to help them get the maximum results. However the individual decides to do it, exercise must become a part of a person’s lifestyle. Starting and maintaining new habits can be difficult. In this case, though, it could be a matter of life or death.
