Why is Exercise so Important?
I recently had a consult with a health coach at the gym. He stressed the importance of both cardio exercises and strength exercises. Why is exercise so important? I realized there is so much to learn about this fascinating topic so I felt some research was in order.
I have always believed that exercise was good for me but I wanted to know why!
Did you know a sedentary lifestyle is responsible for more annual deaths than smoking? That is crazy!
In 2005, James A. Levine, an obesity specialist at Mayo Clinic, published an article in Science Magazine that concluded that any extended sitting – such as behind a desk at work or behind a wheel – can be harmful. He even labeled sitting as the disease of our time
In another article by John Hopkins Medicine the sedentary lifestyle can contribute and even increase your risk of developing the following health issues:
- Certain cancers.
- Anxiety and depression.
- Certain cardiovascular diseases.
- Coronary heart disease.
- Overweight or obesity.
- Decrease in skeletal muscle mass.
- High blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
As if these things were not enough motivation to get moving…
Think about these statistics about sitting…
- Electrical activity in the legs shuts down
- Calorie burning drops to 1 per minute
- Enzymes that break down fat drop 90%
- After 2 hours, good cholesterol drops by 20%
- After 24 hours, insulin effectiveness drops 24% and diabetes risks rise!
This is enough to motivate me to get up and get moving but how much movement should I be getting?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services every adult should get moderate-intensity cardio physical activity 3-5 days for a minimum of 150 minutes each week, or vigorous-intensity cardio physical activity 3-5 days for a minimum of 75 minutes each week to counteract the dangers of sitting too much. This should be done in combination with 8-10 strength-training exercises, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise twice each week.
That sounds complicated so let me simplify it for you. Make choices to move your body whenever you can. For example…Our church has a big parking lot and so every Sunday morning they have a shuttle bus that circles the parking lot to shuttle people to the church building. As convenient as that is, my family chooses to walk instead.
Here are a few changes you can make to get your body moving!
- Choose the stairs.
- For every hour sitting get up and walk around the office for 10 minutes.
- Park at the back of the parking lot so there is farther to walk.
- Ask a friend to go for a walk.
- Take the dog for a walk.
These are all basic things we can all do. When faced with choices, choose the one that will get you moving. Once you are in motion you can take the next step and add intentional time of exercise by going to the gym.
I was recently studying Newton’s laws of motion with my son. The first law is the one I find most applicable to this topic.
An object in motion (or at rest) will tend to stay in motion (or at rest) until it is acted upon by an outside force.
I think we can apply this to people. A sedentary lifestyle of inactivity can lead to illness and even death. A person that is used to not being active may find it difficult to get moving. It is hard to do even when you know you should! Just like Newton’s law of motion, it can take an outside source of encouragement to get a person moving. This is where an accountability partner is so important.
Why is exercise so important?
Because our long term health depends on it!
Whatever it takes for you to go from a state of rest to a state of motion…do it! You will be healthier because you did!
