Health Benefits of Exercise & Physical Activity
Strengthen your bones & muscles
Our bodies are designed and structured in such a way that we move with ease, to perform our daily routines without discomfort. Ageing naturally plays a big factor, but participating in regular physical activity helps to build and strengthen bone density and muscles. Now although we instantly think of the gym for this, other types of muscle strengthening exercises include callisthenics, yoga, Pilates and even step!
Doing this can help to reduce the risk of falls and injuries as we age and slow down the rate of which our muscle mass break downs when we are older. Increases of bone density as scary as it sounds, also helps to prevent osteoporosis or the risk of it as we grow old too, meaning all these “myths” of calcium (milk, cheese, yoghurt) is good for your bones + the added active lifestyle means happy and healthy bones everywhere, and no unexpected home GP visits.
Improve Your Mental Health & Mood
Endorphins – the happy hormones that get secreted and are similarly known to be associated with eating comfort foods such as chocolate are also present when we take part in exercise. Recommended by GPs and doctors nationwide, exercise has multiple benefits to improving your mood as well as assisting with the reduction of anxiety and depression in society making sufferers more aware of their mental state and learn to keep a focus on the current situation, rather than other fear factors in their heads.
Also having more common day-to-day factor improvements such as improved response times, concentration level increases and overall judgement skills – performing a mix of aerobic and muscle strengthening training activities from 3-5 times a week for 30 minutes can help to improve your mood and mind set – without the presence of sugary comfort treats! The best part about it all – keep your exercise regime a mix of a few different types such as body conditioning, cycling or even hitting the gym once or twice a week!
However, you may look to alternative sources of mental health improvement which can work alongside exercise. Coaching can be a great alternative to consider particularly when it comes to high-degrees of stress related problems. Best Health coaching is flexible and works around you – either by having face to face appointments or sessions via skype/over the phone.
Maintain a healthy weight
Regular health checks keep us all aware of our BMI and weight if we don’t already do this ourselves at home, however with food becoming an increase in our lives becoming the most popular social outing – it becomes hard to maintain a ‘healthy’ weight, particularly if we’re in the 9-5 routine and running a household! Health screenings are available to book where your height, weight, BMI, blood pressure and glucose levels can all be checked.
Weight management is all about calories in vs calories out – chances are a lot of us often eat more than we burn, therefore we notice a weight increase every time we step on the scales. As normal as this is and our body’s function very differently to one another, as we age, our metabolism slows down making it harder to lose weight and we often see some Santa bellies make an appearance before Christmas.
Making time for just 30 minutes of high intensity physical activity 3 times a week can open up your body to a world of benefits and help to burn off those extra calories you may have eaten the day before.
Reduce the risk of disease & health scares
Longer term benefits of exercise include those of lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, lowering the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), strokes, diabetes and some cancers.
As regularly partaking in exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight, it also means it helps to keep blood flowing through happily without highly clogged arteries or extreme sensitivity to insulin levels. Even actively moving for 150 minutes in a week within a variety of aerobic exercises can help to improve blood flow circulation, respiratory flow and overall stamina – meaning those tedious stairs you battle everyday will eventually start to seem a lot easier!
There are many other benefits to health such as aiding sleep quality, overall quality of life and there’s the social perks to it too of course, however it is key to remember that exercise should also be aided with a good, healthy diet too. If you are considering taking supplements or other forms of protein sources such as Whey Protein Shakes, it is worth chatting to your GP first. You can book your private GP appointment online here or alternatively schedule in an appointment for over the phone by calling 01708 477 577 or emailing info@bhclinics.com and further services like full health screenings including wellman, wellwoman and senior (60+) male or female screens are also available to book in practice.
