Starting or continuing your exercise
program is much easier if you know
some of the benefits derived
from exercise:
1. Elevates
your metabolism so that you burn more calories
everyday.
2. Increases
your aerobic capacity (fitness level). This
gives you the ability to go through
your day with less relative
energy expenditure. This enables a "fit"
person to have more energy at the end of the
day and to get more accomplished during
the day with less fatigue.
3. Maintains,
tones, and strengthens your muscle. Exercise
also increases your muscular endurance.
4. Decreases your
blood pressure.
5. Increases the
oxidation (breakdown and use) of fat.
6. Increases HDL
(good) cholesterol.
7. Makes the heart
a more efficient pump by increasing stroke
volume.
8. Increases
hemoglobin concentration in your blood. Hemoglobin
is part of the red blood cell that carries
oxygen from the lungs to the rest of
the body.
9. Decreases
the tendency of the blood to clot in the blood
vessels. This is important because small clots
traveling in the blood are often the
cause of heart attacks and strokes.
10. Increases the
strength of the bones.
11. Causes the development
of new blood vessels in the heart
and other muscles.
12. Enlarges the
arteries that supply blood to the heart.
13. Decreases blood
levels of triglycerides (fat).
14. Improves control
of blood sugar.
15. Improves sleep
patterns.
16. Increases the
efficiency of the digestive system which may
reduce the incidence of colon cancer.
17. Increases
the thickness of cartilage in joints which
has a protective effect on the joints.
18. Decreases
a woman's risk of developing endometriosis
by 50%.
19. Increases
the amount of blood that flows to the skin
making it look and feel healthier.
20. Exercise,
in addition to all the physiological and anatomical
benefits, just makes you feel GREAT!
Great Body At 50
- An Information Site on Life after 50: Living an Inspired Life in Mind, Body and Spirit!
