Exercise Benefits

Exercise benefits both the mind and the body. There are many advantages to establishing and maintaining an active lifestyle. The most common are:

• Weight Control - This is perhaps the number one reason given for exercising. Higher activity levels correlate directly with caloric consumption to control weight.


• Manage Chronic Illnesses - Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, back pain, osteoporosis and high cholesterol are among the top conditions that can be prevented or improved through good exercise habits.


• Promote Better Sleep - Physical activity during the day, but not just before sleep, has been shown to help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep thus leading to better concentration and productivity.


• Improve Mood - Researchers have discovered that exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you better manage stress.

Despite the many advantages of exercising, nearly 60 million American adults are obese. Over 20 million have a form of diabetes. Over 13 million suffer from coronary disease. People suffering from high blood pressure account for another 50 million. The list goes on and on. These figures are frightening not just because they are so high but because they are so preventable with the addition of a little more movement in our daily lives. So, this begs the question of why have things gotten so out of hand.

Could it be that the benefits of exercise have no motivational value? We know the benefits of exercise. It's hard NOT to know given all the media attention devoted to exercise benefits and the corresponding ailments associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Chances are that we'd like to be more physically active but it's likely that we've developed habits that prevent us from enjoying the benefits of a more active lifestyle.

As was mentioned in Step 2 Skills of the three-step change process, breaking old habits is something that your brain would rather not do. Learning a new habit requires much more energy than letting old habits reign. You'll soon discover just how wildly creative your thinking will become when you try to ditch an old familiar habit and learn a new one. Three top roadblocks you're sure to encounter are:

• I don't have the time.
  This one is by far the most popular but it's also the easiest to conquer. Increasing your physical activity doesn't require that you go to a fitness center. It doesn't require any extra time from your schedule. However, it is preferable that you do schedule some time for exercise. See SAMPLE CHANGE PLAN below for more details.
• Been there. Done that and failed.
  So you started an exercise routine in the past and it didn't take too much time before you gave it up. Were you methodical about how you initiated your plan? Did you keep yourself motivated? Try the three-step change process: Step 1 Awareness, Step 2 Skills and Step 3 Motivation. See SAMPLE PLAN below.
• Exercise is boring.
  Sure it can be if you choose to do something that you don't have much interest in doing. Exercise is much more than just lifting weights or walking a treadmill. We're really talking about physical activities that involve movement - nothing more and nothing less. Within that very broad definition there are any number of things that you can find to interest you.