Being active is a great way to keep all sorts of health problems at bay. There are various benefits of physical activity for everyone irrespective of your age. Regular physical activity is highly crucial for improving your health and vitals. Regular exercise can assist in preventing or delaying various health issues. Moreover, being active can make you feel and look better today and in the future. In fact, lack of physical activity can result in frequent hospital visits due to various lifestyle diseases. Thus, we are here with a complete guide on the benefits of physical activity for beginners:
Benefits of Physical Activity
To start, let’s take a look at the benefits of physical activity. Explore these seven ways in which exercising can make you healthier and happier:
Helps with Weight Control
Regular exercise can help in losing weight and avoiding weight gain by burning calories . The more intense your workout, the higher amount of calories you’ll be burning. Regular visits to the gym are always beneficial even if you aren’t able to work out each day. Any amount of exercise is better than nothing.
Enhances Mood
Do you need an emotional lift? Or are you looking to relax after an extended day? An exercise session at the gym or going for a brisk walk can definitely help. One of the best benefits of physical activity is that it releases endorphins into your brain. These endorphins make you feel calmer, happier, and less anxious. You even feel more confident about yourself with regular physical activity.
Reduces Stress
If you’re stressed, it is recommended to go for some sort of physical activity. Stress not only affects the quality of your sleep but also the immune system. It causes a build-up of harmful oxygen radicals in the body that lead to different diseases. Thus, physical exercise can be highly effective in decreasing stress. When you’re feeling stressed, consider going for a short workout session or a brisk walk. You’ll surely notice changes in your disposition.
Strengthens Muscles And Bones
As you age, you begin losing muscle mass and bone density. That’s why a lot of women over 30 suffer from arthritis, loose skin, and osteoporosis. Regular physical activity increases mineral density in bones to protect them from osteoporosis. Strength training can also help increase strength, muscle mass, and endurance.
Lowers High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can cause heart attacks, strokes, or even death in extreme cases. It is usually caused by a poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, or genetic inheritance. If you are suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension, it is important to ensure that you eat right and stay physically active.
Relief from Physical Discomforts
Physical activity can help with joint aches like lower back or knee pain. A good workout routine can be helpful for persistent aches and long-term injuries. Although, make sure to consult a doctor first for your workout regime in case of joint aches.
Increased Energy Levels
Your body goes through a surge of hormones when you exercise. These hormones offer a boost in energy that can help you overcome fatigue and improve focus. This boost in energy is particularly beneficial for those suffering from chronic fatigue.
Benefits of Physical Activity for Child Development
Physical activity is extremely crucial for mental and physical growth of children and teenagers. Thus, children should be encouraged to exercise from an early age.
The benefits of physical activity also help create links between brains and nerves. It helps with brain development, motor skills, personal awareness, social interactions, imagination, and more. Regular physical activity even increases oxygen flow in the body and removes toxins. It also helps in keeping all vitals in check for growing children.
Hence, even children and teenagers should also stay physically active and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is essential for improving their physical and mental health.
How to Increase Physical Activity?
Now that you know about the various benefits of physical activity, let’s see how you can increase physical activity in our daily lives:
- Household Chores: Doing chores is an excellent method to stay active and fit. So make it a habit to tidy up and clear up your home on a regular basis.
- Walking Meetings: You can increase physical activity at work by having call and in-person meetings while taking a walk.
- Public Transportation: Try to use public transport instead of a personal vehicle. Taking the bus or train will allow you to walk large distances to stay active instead of sitting in your car.
- Take the Stairs: You can simply take stairs instead of the elevator to increase your physical activity. Even if you are only climbing a few floors, it will still add up quite a lot to your daily physical activity.
- Dance and Aerobics: Dancing is an enjoyable and exciting way to increase your physical activity for weight loss. It’s a great way to pump your heart to increase endurance and burn calories. Dancing is a great way to work out without using any equipment.
Tips to Avoid Injuries during Physical Activity
While regular physical activity is quite important, you should be careful and avoid all injuries. For the same, you can consider these points:
- Warm-up for 5-10 minutes before and cool down for 5-10 minutes after your workouts.
- Start slow and gradually increase your activity unless you work out on a regular basis.
- Select the right clothes and shoes specifically for your exercise. Replace your shoes every six months as the cushioning wears away.
- Exercising in humid and hot weather can result in overheating and dehydration. Make sure to stay hydrated and avoid working out in extreme temperatures.
- Avoid exercising if you’re feeling sick or tired.
- Reduce your physical activity if you can’t complete an exercise routine or feel tired after exercising or throughout the day.
Conclusion
Physical activity is crucial if you want to shed weight, reach fitness goals, and improve your vitals. There are various health benefits of physical activity irrespective of your age and gender. And earlier in this guide, we have already stated all of the major benefits of physical activity. You can also find tips on increasing physical activity and avoiding injuries. If this helped you, consider leaving your thoughts in the comments section down below.