The Importance of Exercise

The Importance of Exercise

by, Leslie Carleton

The importance of exercise is something I wish I knew about when I was younger. I thought people that went to gyms to work out were only there trying to look good and it seemed superficial and egocentric to me, which was the last thing I wanted to be. I also thought it was a place where people went to find a date, so I steered away from the gyms, and even though I was a working model,  I did not invest into my body like I should have; instead I simply held onto my genetics, while only keeping my weight controlled. I thought that was enough. I honestly thought if I looked good, I am good. Wrong! What a misconception! Genetics only take you so far in life, then after a certain point you need to be active and smart about your health otherwise it fades all too quickly.

It is amazing to think that really all one needs to consider is the importance of staying active. To be physically active with our bodies is the natural course for all human beings. That is intrinsic to our bodies. We are not built to be sedentary and yet, that is what so many of us do in our modern lives, which basically forces many of us to sit in front of computers.  So much youth hardly plays outside like kids did in the past. Instead they are sitting down locked into video games and texting.  It scares me to think how this will effect us in the next century, because we can already see the increase in obesity and A.D.D (attention deficit disorder).

Activity strengthens the heart and bones, reduces obesity, improves circulation, it even thickens your skin and can help with depression because of the endorphins that are released into your system. Endorphins are brain chemicals that are often referred to as a ‘natural high.’ Once released into your system it gives relief from pain, reduces stress, regulates the growth hormones, enhances the immune system, reduces symptoms associated with eating disorders, and brings a sense of well-being. I’m sure everyone has had an endorphin rush and knows exactly what it feels like. For some people it takes only ten or fifteen minutes of moderate exercise to experience the endorphin rush. For others it might take 30 minutes or more.

You know the saying, ‘you are what you eat?’ Meaning, your body will reflect what you are putting into it, good or bad. After doing research on health, nutrition and over all fitness, I can clearly see that a great majority of obesity and illness is caused by what we eat, combined with a lack of exercise.  I’m sure you’ve also heard people say, ‘use it or lose it?’ Meaning if it is lost, we cannot get it back. It goes away. That is the way the body works; you can build it up to maximum or break it down to ground zero. Your body is like a fine tuned and obedient machine that follows your orders to the T and uses all the tools and fuel you provide it with; good or bad, so you have to be the one in charge and be smart about it because your body cannot think; it just does as you tell it to do.   If you provide your body with bad tools, by becoming sedentary, by not telling it to exercise, or even by thinking that you don’t need to exercise; your body will do as you command and reflect the results of that decision. And if you feed your body machine with bad fuel, by regularly eating fried or processed food, unsaturated fats, or refined carbohydrates and sugar, it will take this fuel, use it to the optimum, and will reflect the results which is obesity, illness, pain in the joints, depression, hormone imbalance, and a shorter lifespan. On the flip side, if you provide your body with the tools of regular exercise and proper diet, you will have better health throughout your life, you will have more energy, glowing skin, and stronger bones and muscles. Not only will you look and feel better, you also give yourself the advantage to live a longer life and your improved health will transfer over to other aspects of your life, bringing you more success.

  As someone who knows, I can honestly   say that it is never too late to start exercising, and if you exercised in your youth and then gave it up later saying that you don’t care anymore what you look like. Please think again. Don’t fall into that misconception that so many share because exercise really does make a difference in your health and longevity.  It is so worth setting a little time out each day, even if it is just 30 minutes of exercise or stretching.

Your body is a miracle machine that obediently serves you every second of the day! For this alone, it deserves some respect by putting something back into it by regularly tuning it with proper fuel and exercise.

It’s essential to do both cardio (aerobic) as well as resistance exercises. And if you want to loose weight, it’s important to know that aerobic activity is the only thing that gets rid of fat from all over your body including the marbled fat deep inside your muscles; dieting alone can’t do this.

Physical aerobic activity not only helps you loose unwanted fat and puts oxygen throughout your system, which increases it’s over all health, it also stimulates the brain. It helps the brain by reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke and improves cognitive functioning by slowing the age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex of the brain, which is where “executive functioning” like reasoning and problem solving take place. Reports show that as many as fifty million older Americans may get Alzheimer’s by mid-century. While research is underway to prevent or postpone this terrible disease, scientists such as Jane Brody already know that people who exercise regularly in midlife are 1/3 as likely to develop Alzheimer’s in their 70’s. Even those who start exercising in their 60’s cut their risk of Alzheimer’s in half.” Now if that is not evidence enough to know the importance to exercise in later years, I don’t know what else to say. I personally witnessed watching my Grandmother develop Alzheimer’s in her late 70’s. She was a ballet dancer in her youth and because of this she kept her amazing figure and posture. However, like many people, she stopped exercising in her mid to late 40’s.  So, when I read what Jane Brody said about the importance of exercise in later years to avoid dementia; it hit me with clarity.

Another thing, all of us know how we tend to put on weight as we get older.  This is  partly due to becoming less active while we continue to eat the way we always have. Let’s face it, most American’s over eat without even realizing it. But besides over eating, gaining weight is also due to the fact that we lose, on average, 3 to 5 percent of our muscle tissue each decade after age 30, so by the time we reach seventy-five, our resting metabolism (basal metabolism) will have slowed, and dropped by about 10 percent. That is, unless we become active enough to maintain our muscles and consciously eat fewer (but more nutrient-rich) calories.

Have you ever heard someone say that they have no idea how they gained so much weight? Perhaps even you have stepped on the scale and wondered how you gained 10, 20 or 50 pounds? Here’s a dramatic and very real example of what can happen if you are not careful: if you eat just 100 calories more than you burn every day, you can expect to gain more than fifty pounds in five years. Take a moment and really think about that.  Did it sink in?  Astounding isn’t it? In order to lose this fat, you have to burn up that fat as a source of energy. If the calories you eat are less than the number of calories you are burning as energy, then the additional energy you need will have no choice but to come from your fat, and that is when your extra pounds will begin to dissipate.

The more one gets educated on how their body works and learn first hand what the benefits are from exercise and diet, they might very well find a surprisingly strong motivation to get into a routine and stick to it! I know for me, it really changed my outlook on working out when I began studying the body functions and how different weight and resistance machines effects certain muscles. Before, I would passively walk through an exercise and avoid those machines seeing it was a contraption that would bulk me up like a man.  That is another wrong misconception! My new knowledge gave me a totally different view of working out and I began to look forward to my training sessions so I could try everything I was learning and each time I trained I could feel and visualize what was going on in my body. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I became certified as a fitness trainer. But I must say that the biggest motivation for me to finally get on that path to get fit and stay fit was when I learned I was to become a grandmother.  It literally changed my life on a dime. I envisioned my last 50 years and wanted nothing more than to be a youthful, happy and healthy grandmother that will be around a very long time while participating in the lives of my granddaughters without being old, sad, or broken down. That is what it took for me initially to begin a regime and stick to it.

I encourage everyone that wants to begin a workout program to dig deep inside and find your own personal motivation that is needed, to find that very special key that will unlock whatever it is that has been blocking you from embracing a fitness program and a healthy lifestyle. As someone who began working out on a regular and dedicated basis relatively late, I feel as if I have a new lease on life! I actually LIKE to work out now and I feel so much better because of it! It is as if I unearthed the Holy Grail or something, yet the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition is not a hidden secret, it never was, this knowledge has always been there for all of us to embrace, but in order for it to work,  we have to take that knowledge and apply it personally.  You can’t just read about an exercise program or watch it on youtube for it to work, you have to DO IT.  This takes two steps. First you need to make a decision to do it, and secondly you need to have the discipline to stick to it.

People ask me  how I was able to get into a workout routine when I did not have the habit to do so throughout my youth.  For those of you that have discipline for such things this question probably does not make sense to you at all, but if you are a couch potato or someone like I was that just felt I didn’t need to work out for whatever reason, it ends up being the same. The brain is not trained to think in a certain way that motivates you to get up and go to the gym, take a brisk walk each morning, change your eating habits, or to start a new sport.  I liken it to being a smoker.  If you have ever smoked and stopped, you know exactly what I mean.  You will never succeed in quitting until the day you finally and unquestionably decide, “ I QUIT!”  And it is usually one thing that motivates you to get to that point to really mean it, like seeing someone you love die of cancer, or perhaps you feel a pain in your chest or someone tells you your breath stinks like a chimney. The point is, it all starts in your brain. You need to make a real decision and visualize it as being done.This will make it a fact and your body will follow your lead like a good soldier.

When beginning a program for the first time, or when beginning again after having stopped for many years, you need to start slowly. It is also recommend you hire a personal trainer, someone certified. One of the things that always put me off to working out or sticking to it was someone uncertified pushing me too much to do it or giving me a routine that was totally exhausting.  This is a mistake. What that creates is a bad imprint in the brain by relating pain and displeasure to working out. One should ENJOY the experience. If you hate exercise and feel it is a waste of your time, then you have to find a way to trick your mind.  Your mind needs to associate working out with having fun so you look forward to it! You need to associate working out with pleasure, then each time your qualified trainer will slowly increase the intensity of your work outs … then before you know it you are in a routine and your body will begin to show and feel the results.