Getting Started With Fitness – Long Term Benefits
February 10, 2008 – 5:55 am
When I was younger and wasting away my youth and my money on partying, the only exercise in which I consistently engaged was chasing skirts. With the exception of the annual PT tests when I was in the Army, I never really had any fitness goals. I was always quick to point out that there were more old drunks around than old doctors. I later found out that it wasn’t uncommon for them to be one in the same but I digress.
I used to be able to get in shape in a week or two and I could lose five pounds in a few days without much sacrifice – then I hit thirty. Just when I began to realize that getting in shape after a long lay off wasn’t as easy as it used to be – I hit forty. I won’t even go into what happens when you hit fifty but it isn’t pretty.
Fortunately, there is a fountain of youth that can not only help keep you feeling young, it can actually turn back the clock. What’s even better is you don’t have to kill yourself to experience the benefits. Just devoting a few minutes a day is all it takes. In fact, you can experience fantastic results by exercising for just thirty minutes a day, four or five day per week. Bump it up to an hour and the world will be your oyster – not really but you get my point.
Exercise can improve your overall quality of life in a variety of ways. Experts recommend that we sleep a minimum of eight hours per night but very few Americans devote this much time to recharging their batteries. Even if you don’t get the recommended number of hours of sleep, exercise can help you sleep better.
Regular aerobic activity will strengthen your heart and lungs, help you lose weight and give you more energy. You can do sit-ups until the cows come home but you are not going to get rid of your spare tire. You simply can’t spot reduce – diet and fat burning aerobic exercise are the only route to a washboard midsection. From a long term perspective, your exercise routine will also help reduce your risk of developing heart disease and some types of cancer.
It always amazes me when I read about the number of people that rely on medication to relieve the stresses of day to day living. Exercise is free and it has been proven to reduce stress, improve your mood and relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Osteoporosis is another serious problem for a lot of older folks, particularly women. Regular strength (anaerobic) training helps strengthen your bones by increasing bone density.
The benefits of a regular exercise programs go on and on. The great thing is all of these benefits are available to you for the taking. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a health club membership. In fact, the only thing you need to “spend” is some time. Each day, just do little stretching, a few calisthenics and then lace up your walking shoes and take a brisk walk around your neighborhood. Try to increase the length and intensity of your workouts each week and before long you will see how investing a few minutes a day in exercise can significantly improve your overall quality of life.