What does exercising do for you
Benefits of Physical Activity | Physical Activity
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Reduce Your Health Risk
The good news is that moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, is generally safe for most people.
Cardiovascular Disease
Heart disease and stroke are two leading causes of death in the United States. Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.
Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People start to see benefits at levels from physical activity even without meeting the recommendations for 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity.
Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more.
Strengthen Your Bones and Muscles
As you age, it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles – they support your body and help you move. Keeping bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you’re able to do your daily activities and be physically active.
Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength. This is important for older adults who experience reduced muscle mass and muscle strength with aging. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age.
Improve Your Ability to do Daily Activities and Prevent Falls
Everyday activities include climbing stairs, grocery shopping, or playing with your grandchildren. Being unable to do everyday activities is called a functional limitation.
Physically active middle-aged or older adults have a lower risk of functional limitations than people who are inactive.
For older adults, doing a variety of physical activity improves physical function and decreases the risk of falls or injury from a fall. Include physical activities such as aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance training. Multicomponent physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a structured program.
Hip fracture is a serious health condition that can result from a fall. Breaking a hip have life-changing negative effects, especially if you’re an older adult. Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people.
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Increase Your Chances of Living Longer
See physical activity recommendations for different groups, including:
- Children age 3-5.
- Children and adolescents age 6-17.
- Adults age 18-64.
- Adults 65 and older.
- Adults with chronic health conditions and disabilities.
- Healthy pregnant and postpartum women.
An estimated 110,000 deaths per year could be prevented if US adults ages 40 and older increased their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by a small amount. Even 10 minutes more a day would make a difference.
Taking more steps a day also helps lower the risk of premature death from all causes. For adults younger than 60, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. For adults 60 and older, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.
Manage Chronic Health Conditions & Disabilities
Regular physical activity can help people manage existing chronic conditions and disabilities. For example, regular physical activity can:
- Reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis.
- Help control blood sugar levels and lower risk of heart disease and nerve damage for people with type 2 diabetes.
- Help support daily living activities and independence for people with disabilities. Also see:
- Health Benefits Associated with Physical Activity for People with Chronic Conditions and Disabilities [PDF-14.4MB]
- Key Recommendations for Adults with Chronic Conditions and Disabilities [PDF-14.4MB]
Benefits of Exercise: MedlinePlus
We have all heard it many times before - regular exercise is good for you, and it can help you lose weight. But if you are like many Americans, you are busy, you have a sedentary job, and you haven't yet changed your exercise habits. The good news is that it's never too late to start. You can start slowly, and find ways to fit more physical activity into your life. To get the most benefit, you should try to get the recommended amount of exercise for your age. If you can do it, the payoff is that you will feel better, help prevent or control many diseases, and likely even live longer.
What are the health benefits of exercise?
Regular exercise and physical activity may:
- Help you control your weight. Along with diet, exercise plays an important role in controlling your weight and preventing obesity. To maintain your weight, the calories you eat and drink must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must use more calories than you eat and drink.
- Reduce your risk of heart diseases. Exercise strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, and heart attack. Regular exercise can also lower your blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
- Help your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels. Exercise can lower your blood sugar level and help your insulin work better. This can cut down your risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
And if you already have one of those diseases, exercise can help you to manage it. - Help you quit smoking. Exercise may make it easier to quit smoking by reducing your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can also help limit the weight you might gain when you stop smoking.
- Improve your mental health and mood. During exercise, your body releases chemicals that can improve your mood and make you feel more relaxed. This can help you deal with stress and reduce your risk of depression.
- Help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. Exercise stimulates your body to release proteins and other chemicals that improve the structure and function of your brain.
- Strengthen your bones and muscles. Regular exercise can help kids and teens build strong bones. Later in life, it can also slow the loss of bone density that comes with age. Doing muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength.
- Reduce your risk of some cancers, including colon, breast , uterine, and lung cancer.
- Reduce your risk of falls. For older adults, research shows that doing balance and muscle-strengthening activities in addition to moderate-intensity aerobic activity can help reduce your risk of falling.
- Improve your sleep. Exercise can help you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
- Improve your sexual health. Regular exercise may lower the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. For those who already have ED, exercise may help improve their sexual function. In women, exercise may increase sexual arousal.
- Increase your chances of living longer. Studies show that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from the leading causes of death, like heart disease and some cancers.
How can I make exercise a part of my regular routine?
- Make everyday activities more active.
Even small changes can help. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk down the hall to a coworker's office instead of sending an email. Wash the car yourself. Park further away from your destination. - Be active with friends and family. Having a workout partner may make you more likely to enjoy exercise. You can also plan social activities that involve exercise. You might also consider joining an exercise group or class, such as a dance class, hiking club, or volleyball team.
- Keep track of your progress. Keeping a log of your activity or using a fitness tracker may help you set goals and stay motivated.
- Make exercise more fun. Try listening to music or watching TV while you exercise. Also, mix things up a little bit - if you stick with just one type of exercise, you might get bored. Try doing a combination of activities.
- Find activities that you can do even when the weather is bad.
You can walk in a mall, climb stairs, or work out in a gym even if the weather stops you from exercising outside.
- Aerobic Exercise: Top 10 Reasons to Get Physical (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Health Benefits of Water-Based Exercise (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Physical Activity and Health: The Benefits of Physical Activity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Real-Life Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity (National Institute on Aging)
- Staying Active at Any Size (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- Step It Up! Get Active for Your Health (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
- Why Exercise? (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Why Physical Activity Is Important (for Girls) (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
- Article: Prevalence of physical activity levels and perceived benefits of and barriers.
.. - Article: Increasing Shoe Longitudinal Bending Stiffness Is Not Beneficial to Reduce Energy...
- Article: The Benefits to Bone Health in Children and Pre-School Children with.
.. - Benefits of Exercise -- see more articles
50 reasons to go in for sports
Sports, or rather moderate physical activity, are good for a person.
Don't you think this is an axiom? Then here are 50 arguments that will give you an extra incentive to improve your life through sports.
YashkovskiyMD/Shutterstock.com
People who exercise regularly tend to be in a better mood
than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Sangudo/Flickr.com
There is a direct link between physical activity and human cognitive abilities: learning is easier for those who lead an active lifestyle.
faungg's photos/Flickr.com
Thanks to its positive effect on the physical condition of the body, sport also improves mental health.
See-ming Lee/Flickr.com
Achieving good athletic performance improves self-esteem.
Warren Miller/Flickr.com
Exercising improves the metabolic processes in the brain, contributing to its better functioning.
agsandrew/Depositphotos.com
Due to sports activities, the blood supply to the muscles and the regulation of their activity by the nervous system improve - muscle mass grows.
Runar Eilertsen/Flickr.com
Playing sports helps you take your mind off problems and reduce stress.
Travel Manitoba/Flickr.com
A healthy approach to sports strengthens the immune system and therefore improves well-being.
Zach Dischner/Flickr.com
Your body releases endorphins in response to exercise, so you feel better after your workout.
Angsbacka/Flickr.com
Only by doing sports, you can be sure that your body will remain fit and beautiful for many years.
Cara/Flickr.com
Exercising the muscular system increases endurance in both physical and mental stress.
mihtiander/Depositphotos.com
An active lifestyle keeps your metabolic rate at a high level longer, which prevents aging.
pressmaster/Depositphotos.com
Exercising helps detoxify the body for firmer, more beautiful skin.
valuavitaly/Depositphotos.com
Physical activity adds variety to your daily routine.
luckybusiness/Depositphotos.com
Regular exercise makes falling asleep easier and improves the quality of your sleep.
Vlad Meytin/Flickr.com
Exercise promotes cardiovascular health and, as a result, reduces the risk of stroke.
Maridav/Depositphotos.com
Moderate exercise improves the nutrition of the joints and helps them stay healthy longer.
Maridav/Depositphotos.
com
People who lead an active lifestyle are less prone to anxiety.
Brad Willard/Flickr.com
Regular exercise improves blood composition: increases the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin levels.
Artida/Depositphotos.com
Physical activity contributes to the expansion and strengthening of blood vessels, which helps to maintain their elasticity and normalize blood pressure.
Queen's University/Flickr.com
Sport has a positive effect on memory and creativity.
Martin L/Flickr.com
Playing sports is an effective way to fight addictions.
MitaStockImages/Depositphotos.com
A person who regularly goes in for sports is able to do much more work than sedentary people.
Mindaugas Danys/Flickr.com
Sport is an important aspect of successful weight loss.
londondeposit/Depositphotos.com
A reasonable approach to sports allows you to form a beautiful body.
Lebval/Depositphotos.com
Daily victories over one's own laziness and regular sports lessons teach self-organization and responsibility.
Alessandro Pautasso/Flickr.com
Sports activities improve coordination.
Kyle Steed/Flickr.com
An active lifestyle promotes healthy eating habits.
Tella Chen/Flickr.com
Due to its positive effect on all body systems, sport helps to live longer.
Luigi Mengato/Flickr.com
Physical activity nourishes bones and makes them strong.
Wavebreakmedia/Depositphotos.com
As a result of training, the walls of the heart muscle thicken and the volume of the heart increases, which increases its power and efficiency.
GaudiLab/Depositphotos.com
Strong muscles help maintain good posture.
inesbazdar/Depositphotos.com
People who exercise regularly are less prone to colds.
photodesign/Depositphotos.com
Regular exercise helps lower blood cholesterol levels.
frenta/Depositphotos.com
Many studies have already confirmed that exercise helps prevent diabetes.
Tim Wilson/Flickr.com
Regular exercise increases heart rate and, as a result, decreases resting heart rate.
Zach Dischner/Flickr.com
People who play sports throughout their lives manage to maintain their sanity in old age.
pershing/Depositphotos.com
Properly chosen exercises help relieve back pain and prevent new flare-ups.
Kzenon/Depositphotos.com
Regular moderate exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
Maridav/Depositphotos.com
Sport contributes to the body's adaptation to hypoxia (lack of oxygen), which makes the body more resilient in conditions of physical exertion.
Serre Chevalier/Flickr.com
Sports activities improve pain tolerance.
Alex Groundwater/Flickr.com
Exercise improves your sense of balance and balance, which can sometimes be crucial in preventing injury.
Elvert Barnes/Flickr.com
Physical activity increases the oxygen capacity of the blood, which means better oxygen supply to the entire body.
Devon Christopher Adams/Flickr.com
By improving your physical condition, sport increases your concentration.
Nicolas F./Flickr.com
Exercise improves self-control.
nate bolt/Flickr.com
Versatile sports activities help the body use energy more efficiently, resulting in less fatigue.
Peter Mooney/Flickr.com
The lives of active people who play sports are more fulfilling.
Zach Dischner/Flickr.com
Moderate sports activities have a positive effect on the quality of sex.
_italo_/Depositphotos.com
Playing sports helps you make new friends.
yanlev/Depositphotos.com
The standard of living of those who go in for sports is generally higher.
ikostudio/Depositphotos.com
Interesting topics:
Author — Polina Koshkadelik.
Editor — Oksana Zapevalova.
Layout - Lera Merzlyakova.
5 exercises that will tone the body in just 10 days
Kefir with cabbage leaves won over your extra pounds, but now you urgently need to “tighten up” some parts of your body? We have compiled a program for you of 5 effective exercises that will allow you to tone your body in just ten days.
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Pro Tips
5 life hacks
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Let's say right away: to do even simple exercises with benefit, and not to make others laugh, you need to do it right. For professional advice, the team of the Miracle of Technology program on NTV asked the queen of the uneven bars, the legendary gymnast Svetlana Khorkina, as well as the head physician of the Russian national football team, Eduard Bezuglov.
Here's what they recommend.
100
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The 100 is one of the most popular exercises for Pilates abs. By the way, it is well suited to warm up the muscles before something serious.
- Lie on your back, bend your legs, your shoulder blades do not touch the mat, your chin looks up, press your lower back to the floor, tightening your abs and pulling in your stomach.
- Swing your palms down as if you are hitting the air. The abdominal muscles are very hardy, so they “love” a large number of repetitions. As the name of the exercise implies, you need to do 100 "hand strikes". By the way, this is also useful for burning fat in the abdomen. And if your abs are already strong and one hundred seems not enough, you can repeat, but with your legs stretched up at an angle of 45 degrees.
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Eduard Bezuglov believes that this exercise involves almost all muscle groups, well, except, perhaps, the calf, calf muscles, and people with almost any level of health can perform it. Of course, you also need to do the classic “twisting” for the press: round your back, do not pull yourself by the neck (keep your hands at your temples) and press your lower back and feet to the floor as tightly as possible. Then this exercise, and not just "hundred", will show an amazing effect!
High chair
At number 2 on the list of “simple miracles”, our experts have placed the “high chair”. It's almost like squats, but with less stress on the knee joints, which suffer a lot from regular squats.
- Usually, the "high chair" is performed against the wall, with your back tightly pressed and your knees bent 90 degrees, as if you were sitting on an invisible chair.
But you can do it without support, so the buttocks and back muscles are better worked out. - Important note: the back cannot be rounded here! From the coccyx to the top of the head, the body should be straight, the pelvis laid deep back. As in regular squats, the knees do not go beyond the toe, the hands are near the head or extended forward.
Eduard believes that almost all muscles are loaded here: the trunk, core, lower limbs. But Svetlana Khorkina doesn’t make a high chair — it’s too easy for her. But regular squats (legs one foot wide apart) are just right. But it is important that the heels do not come off the floor. In general, of course, the "high chair" can be made more difficult - to perform with dumbbells or alternately raising the legs, keeping them in the air. You need to “sit on a chair” as long as you have the strength, on average 1-2 minutes, and it’s better to do 3-5 approaches.
Push-ups
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Push-ups! This exercise, familiar from school, can do a lot.
After all, push-ups can be not only classic, but also from the knees from the floor, and standing from the wall, from the table, from the chair and from the chair upside down, from the bench, with a jump, with a narrow or very wide stance of hands and even on one hand and one leg! Bezuglov says: “A great exercise, quite safe, the only thing I would recommend is doing it in pain-free mode, not turning on the so-called “man” mode. Almost all the muscles of the trunk, legs, core, and so on are involved. When you do push-ups, the body should be on the same line, no backbends or, conversely, the "cat's hump" should not be included. A very large load falls on the shoulder joint. There is nothing wrong with this, but very often the muscles of the rotator cuff that surround the shoulder joint can become inflamed during these exercises.
During push-ups, the abdominal muscles should be tightened, the buttocks tense, and the hands should be placed clearly under the shoulder joint.
Choose the method that you like best and do about 3-5 sets of 10-15 times, and you can do this anywhere - even in the kitchen while breakfast is being prepared.
Jumper
At number four, the classic cardio exercise is called the jumper, it seems very simple, but it works just like magic, strengthening the heart muscle and blood vessels. It also burns about 200 kilocalories in just 15 minutes!
- Starting position - legs together, arms along the body. Then simultaneously raise your arms through the sides above your head and jump to spread your legs slightly wider than your shoulders. Quickly return to the starting position.
- The doctor adds that the muscles of the lower extremities, the core, and, of course, the muscles of the upper shoulder girdle, the muscles of the rotator cuff and the trapezius muscle work. The most important thing here is not to jump too high, you can’t land on straight legs, they should always be slightly bent, you should spring.
This exercise is included in some foreign military training courses because it improves endurance very well. If you make at least 20 jumps, your vitality will rise greatly!
Plank
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amazingly effective exercises. Same plank! She has a lot of varieties: on her arms and one leg, with a wide stance, a side plank on her forearm, on an outstretched arm, with a lift of opposite arms and legs. Edward warns: “The line of the body must be straight. No arches, no sagging. There will be no sagging if you follow the buttocks and abdominal muscles. The plank cannot do any harm. Well, if you do it somehow completely loosely and do it for a long time, some inflammation of the tendons may occur, since you are in a static mode for a long time, the muscle may spasm.
