Why Exercise is a Game-Changer for Your Health?
You hear and read it over and over again: “Regular exercise is important for health”. But is that really true? And if so, what effects does regular physical training have on our body? We will tell you whether sport is healthy or unhealthy and what effects physical training has on our cardiovascular system, our muscles, our bones, and our metabolism.
Why is exercising important?
Almost every second, people does little or no sport these days. There are many reasons why there is no time for a regular sports program: professional life is often stressful and the remaining free time is used for family, friends or other hobbies instead of sports.
Sport is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. And exercise doesn’t mean a short walk around the block or the way to the nearest supermarket, you should do at least moderate effort for at least 30 minutes, ideally three to four times a week.
Is Sport healthy or unhealthy?
Sport is considered healthy and it is, at least if it is done properly.
Because regular physical training:
- Strengthens the immune system, among other things.
- Keeps the cardiovascular system fit and can prevent a variety of diseases.
But if you overdo it with the physical strain, sport can also be unhealthy for you. Too much stress can result in sore muscles as well as sports injuries such as meniscus damage , cruciate ligament tears or ligament strains.
Sport could be considered unhealthy if the body does not have enough time to regenerate after a load.
So, you should have a thorough examination by your family doctor after a longer break from sport before you start training again. He can check how good your health is and which sports are suitable for you, and which are not. In the case of existing illnesses, he can also give you tips for a sensible training plan.
Sport is good for the heart
Regular endurance training strengthens the heart muscles, the heart can therefore work more economically. Thanks to the strengthened muscles, the heart can pump more blood into the body with every beat and therefore has to beat less often. This protects the heart and the heart muscle can be better supplied with blood in the pauses between two beats.
Regular exercise also keeps the blood vessels elastic, the resistance in the vessels decreases and the risk of developing high blood pressure decreases. If you already have high blood pressure, physical training can help to lower the elevated values again. Here, however, you should draw up a suitable training plan in consultation with your doctor.
In addition to the cardiovascular system, physical training also has a positive effect on the cholesterol level : while the “bad” LDL cholesterol is reduced through exercise, the “good” HDL cholesterol is increased. This can prevent arteriosclerosis and thus also secondary diseases such as a stroke or heart attack .
Prevent diabetes with sport
During exercise, more energy is consumed, including in the form of sugar. This process lowers the blood sugar level. In addition, less insulin is required because during exercise the glucose is absorbed by the corresponding transport proteins in the muscle fibers. Thus, sport can prevent diabetes mellitus.
Regular physical training can also have a positive effect if you already have diabetes. Because in diabetics, just like in healthy people, the blood sugar level is lowered through exercise.
As with high blood pressure, the same applies to diabetes: Discuss your training plan with your doctor beforehand in order to avoid possible risks or damage.
Strong bones through exercise
Physical training stimulates our bones to form new bone substance . This process becomes more and more important with increasing age, as bone density slowly decreases from the age of 35 to 40 and the risk of osteoporosis increases. With the right physical training, the loss of bone substance can be prevented.
Suitable sports include:
- Jogging
- Walking
- Hiking
- Weight training
Lose weight healthily through sports
Regular physical activity has a positive effect on our body weight in two ways: On the one hand, a lot of calories are burned when exercising . Exactly how many calories are burned depends on various factors. In addition to the type of sport, body weight and the duration and intensity of the training are also decisive.
On the other hand, regular exercise also increases the basal metabolic rate. This indicates how much energy the body uses at rest. The more muscles you have, the higher the basal metabolic rate.
When you are well trained, you burn more energy at rest than an untrained person. That’s why not only endurance training is worthwhile to lose weight, but also regular, targeted strength training to build muscle.
Fight belly fat
Regular physical training reduces body weight, and thus also the dangerous abdominal fat ( visceral fat ). It lies deep in the abdominal cavity and envelops the internal organs there. It is dangerous because it is an ideal breeding ground for various inflammatory messenger substances. From the abdominal cavity, these can be distributed throughout the body and, in the long term, increase the risk of vascular diseases or diabetes.
Endurance sports such as jogging, walking, swimming or cycling are particularly suitable for reducing abdominal fat. If you do one of these sports, move around for at least half an hour, or better yet, a little longer. Because only then does fat burning really get going.
Mentally fit thanks to sport
Sport has an impact on our physical fitness. When looking at physiological parameters such as cardiovascular function, sporty people appear significantly younger than their peers who do not do any sport. In addition to physical exercise, regular exercise also has an impact on our mental fitness.
Sport should increase our mental performance on the one hand through improved blood circulation. If the brain is better supplied with blood, it is supplied with more nutrients and more oxygen.
On the other hand, the brain should also be able to be rejuvenated and used more effectively through regular physical training. Exactly what effects regular exercise has on our brain still needs to be researched.
Get started
The weaker self is usually the biggest opponent on the way to a more active lifestyle. In order to overcome it, it is important that you do not overwhelm yourself with resolutions that are too high right at the beginning. Better to get on slowly and take it easy. Then getting started is usually not that difficult.
The following tips can help you get started in small steps:
Instead of starting straight away with three training sessions per week, you should start with one sports session first. It is best to schedule this for the weekend, since you have more time than during the week.
Once you get used to the training, you can introduce a second training session during the week. This can, but does not have to, have the same content as the training at the weekend: if you go jogging or walking at the weekend, try swimming during the week. Or do a small gymnastics and strengthening program at home.
Depending on your mood, you can introduce another training unit in the next step or extend the duration of the first two units a little. In this way, you can gradually increase your sporting workload.
Of course, three or four sessions of at least 30 minutes per week are considered optimal. But even a slightly lighter exercise program is better than not moving at all. The most important thing is that you enjoy the sport, because that’s the only way you can keep training in the long term!.
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