Staying Fit And Living Longer

How Exercise Improves Your Lifeline, Not Just Your Waistline

 

The topic of health has been fresh on many Americans’ minds recently in large part due to the health crisis caused by the global pandemic. It’s no secret that being fit significantly improves your chances of recovering from any illness, not just Covid 19. In fact, obesity is among the most common comorbidities for those infected with Covid 19. That should be reason alone for the 42.4% of obese adults in America to adopt a healthier lifestyle, and there’s no better place to start than with exercise. The benefits of exercise have long been touted by fitness enthusiasts and doctors alike. Exercise reduces your risk of obesity, improves your mood, helps you sleep better, and significantly reduces your risk of developing potentially life threatening diseases. Even little to moderate amounts of exercise have been linked to producing these benefits. Just two to eight hours a week of moderate exercise lowers your risk of dying prematurely from any cause by 29-36% and reduces your risk of heart disease by 42%.  This is great news for anyone hoping to increase their lifespan or avoid serious illness, as anyone can decide to start exercising at any point in time.

 

Get Fit, Live Longer

 

Two to eight hours of exercise a week might sound like a lot to those of you who do not already incorporate working out into your daily routine. You might be envisioning yourself forced to attend a CrossFit group fitness class, where you’ll be more likely to stumble over your own two feet and hurt yourself rather than gain any benefits from exercise. Or you might be dreading the idea of taking a spin class, where you’ll likely come closer to having a heart attack than reducing your risk of diabetes. While both these forms of exercise are great ways to stay fit, they are not the only ways to get there. You don’t need to do intense workout classes to lengthen your lifespan and reduce your risk of disease. Light to moderate exercise includes anything from brisk walking around the neighborhood, to a light jog, or even working all afternoon doing yard work. The key is to keep moving and to keep doing it consistently.

 

No matter how out of shape you may be now, you can change that at any moment when you decide to take charge of your health. Just exercise alone, without changing any aspects of your lifestyle, would be enough to have a positive impact on your health. It all starts with one decision to get up off the couch and make your body move the way it was designed to. And don’t be ashamed of starting slow, there is no shame in having to work your way up. We all are starting from different points in our lives and will therefore have different struggles. When or where you start from is not important. What’s important is that you decide to change the outcome of your life, by changing the way you live it. Now, who’s ready to put on a pair of sneakers and get to work?

Article By: Whitney Holcombe

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