10 Reasons that Exercise is Not Just About Losing Weight

10 Reasons that Exercise is Not Just About Losing Weight

10-Reasons-that-Exercise-is-more-than-losing-weight2You can lose weight by eating healthy and watching your portion and calories but you can lose more weight faster and get fit by adding exercise to the picture. Let’s be realistic, exercising can be hard, it’s a matter of time or lack thereof. Between work, kids, making dinner and going to bed, when are you supposed to fit in that hour of exercise? The answer is, you’re just going to have to make it happen—no one else can do it for you, because exercise is not an option.

If losing weight and looking good weren’t enough…

Here are 10 reasons to get you off the couch and keep you exercising:

  1. On average, you will longer than people who don’t exercise.
  2. You’ll have a lower risk of getting high blood pressure or heart disease or even having a stroke.
  3. You’ll have a lower risk of getting colon cancer.
  4. You’ll have a lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
  5. You’ll help counter osteoporosis or bone loss.
  6. You’ll help reduce joint swelling and pain.
  7. You’ll have a smaller chance of getting depressed.
  8. You’ll save money on doctor visits.
  9. You will have an easier time to perform necessary daily activities.
  10. Lastly, you will have fun!

The next step is getting started. You need to devote at least 12 weeks for maximum results but how long you stay on that plan will vary depending on your goals.

The best way to burn those calories and fat is your cardiovascular activity. That means you need to get your heart rate in its fat-burning zone and keep there for a specified amount of time. Options for cardio can be: swimming, walking, biking, dancing, or elliptical machine.

Once you have gained a fitness base, you’ll start to change your routine up with interval training. That means alternating periods of high-intensity and low-intensity cardio activity. This will help burn more calories and fat and improving the cardiovascular fitness.

If you have extra time, consider complementing your cardio and circuit workouts with other form of exercises such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, or even dancing. Remember the more you do, the more you lose! By burning 250-500 calories a day through exercise, you could lose up to a whole pound per week.

Vancouver Health Coach