The Benefits of Exercise 

Physical activity is an essential component to weight management and wellness.  Studies continue to show the numerous, healthful effects of daily exercise:

- It helps you maintain a healthy weight by burning calories and increasing muscle mass, which in turn can rev up your metabolism.

- It increases your energy level.

- It can reduce stress and tension by regulating hormone levels.

- It strengthens your bones and can help to reduce blood pressure.

- It helps reduce your percentage of body fat.

- It can reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as breast and colon cancers, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

- It can increase your cognitive brain function and help fight depression.

The positive effects of daily exercise is compelling.  Studies show that daily exercise can lower the risk of diseases such as common cancers, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.  Medical research suggests that some types of cancer, such as breast and colon, are linked to excess weight.  Exercising and staying physically fit can help reduce your chance of getting colon cancer by 30 to 40% versus people that are sedentary.  Regular exercise can also help men aged 65 years and older reduce their risk of getting advanced prostrate cancer. ^[1]

As stated in the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that adults need to partake in two types of physical activity, aerobic and muscle-strengthening, each week in order to improve health.

• People who get 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or playing doubles tennis, AND who engage in muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest,  shoulders, and arms) at least twice a week will get a substantial health benefit. [2]

• For those individuals that participate in vigorous intensity aerobic activities such as running or jogging, you can reduce the time by half to 75 minutes each week in conjunction with muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups at least twice weekly. [2]
  

Exercise and Weight Loss

Exercise, whether cardiovascular or resistance, is important  to your weight loss because it helps you to build lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism and allows you to burn more calories each day. This is why men, who typically have more lean muscle mass than women, tend to lose weight faster and gain it more slowly.  If you diet without exercising, you will lose both muscle and fat.  This is counterproductive because a decrease in muscle mass lowers your baseline metabolic rate, which is how many calories your body uses at rest.

Identify the Right Exercise Program for You

Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is important that you identify an exercise program that is right for your body.  You may want to work out with a personal trainer or fitness instructor that is able to work with your physical strengths and weaknesses. You may want to consider metabolic testing.

For many a good place to start is with walking. Walking uses many large muscles which help to burn calories.  Walking is easy for most people. It does not require special equipment or skill, and even minutes a day will provide benefit.  If you are out of breath and you feel your heart rate rising, slow your pace.  A nice, steady pace can yield great results. The key is to walk regularly. 

Keep in mind that all activity counts. Regardless of the type of physical activity, it will speed up your metabolism and increase the number of calories that you burn. We all burn calories at rest and when moving around.  A 150 pound person will burn approximately 100 calories just by ironing or doing laundry for 40 minutes.  The same 150 pound person will burn approximately 100 calories in 20 minutes trimming shrubs or weeding the garden.  The important thing is to maintain a healthy level of activity and movement.  According to Dr. Steven Blair, professor of exercise science, epidemiology, and biostatistics at the the University of South Carolina, "The biggest bang for your buck is going from nothing to 30 minutes a day."

For more information on metabolic testing, go to www.newleaftesting.com. 

Sources:

[1] Exercise and Health Altert, Fox Chase Cancer Center, www.fccc.edu

[2] Physical Activity for Everyone Guidelines: How much physical activity do we need?, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html

[3] Slow metabolism: Is there any such thing? , Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., Mayo Clinic Dietitian