Why is exercise important?
Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and powerful medicine. Exercise prevents health problems, builds strength, boosts energy, helps reduce stress, helps you maintain a healthy body weight, and curbs your appetite.
What are some health benefits of exercising?
- Reduces the risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
- It helps reduce inflammation in your joints and tendons and keeps your ligaments flexible.
- It contributes to mental well-being and relieves stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Increases energy and endurance.
- Improves sleep.
- It helps maintain a healthy weight by increasing your metabolism, which burns calories.
Which types of exercises are best for me?
When it comes to exercising, just about any activity is good for you. The type of exercise you should do depends on your current health and level of activity.
Before starting any exercise program or routine, you should seek medical advice from your doctor to ensure there are no underlying issues that would cause severe pain, injury, or life-threatening incidents like a heart attack, stroke, etc.
Suppose your current activity level is extremely low, and you can hardly get off the couch, out of bed, or have difficulty breathing just walking to the bathroom or kitchen. In that case, I wouldn’t recommend running or doing any high-impact exercise. Instead, start slow and begin with stretching, taking short walks, and performing low-impact exercises.
If you can walk 2 miles in 30 minutes, participate in sports requiring 20 minutes or more of physical activity, do 30 – 45 minutes of gardening or yard work, or occasionally go to the gym, your activity level would be considered moderate.