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15 Benefits of Exercise That Aren’t Related to Weight Loss or Looking Good
There is a list of excuses peo-
ple use when they talk about how
they choose not to participate in
physical activity. Some of these
might be: I don’t need to lose
weight, I don’t have time, I don’t want
to look muscle-y, or they just don’t
think it’s going to benefit them. central group of muscles is more im-
Like seriously?! You think you don’t
need this in your life?! Well, here are
15 reasons why EVERYONE needs
to be physically active. more energy?! That’s a silly ques-
1. Exercise can help you
sleep. Slight disclaimer here: For
those of you that want to try to get
better sleep, try working out in the
morning or early afternoon. Due to
the chemical changes that happen in
the body and the brain, working out
in the evening may actually keep you
awake at night. Everyone is different
though, find the time that best fits
your body and your schedule.
2. Stress Relief. Exercise is one of
the best stress relievers out there.
What’s better than a good kickboxing
class or spending an hour to yourself
in the gym when you’re frustrated.
Getting “in the zone” will help you get
out of that stressed mindset. There’s
science behind it too, during exer-
cise the brain produces endorphins,
natural stress-fighters.
3. Endorphins. So, more about the
natural stress relievers mentioned in
the last point. Long story short, your
brain makes drugs when you exer-
cise. They’re legal, they’re natural,
and they make you feel good. Win-
Win-Win! Endorphins along with oth-
er chemicals released into the brain
during exercise, help us feel good.
They can block the pain and discom-
fort some may feel during exercise,
this is the cause behind a “runner’s
high.” And not only is this process
working on your brain during exer-
cise, it continues after as well leaving listing, you’re saving yourself from
you with a better overall mood.

4. Improves posture. Good posture
is directly related to strong muscles.
Think of all those muscles in your
14 • Sports Finest Magazine July 2018 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 545 0735 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com
By: Hannah Boyl
Mission 1 Fitness and Performance
core, back, neck, spine, etc., that
have to hold you up all day. Help
them out a little bit and strengthen
them. Having weak core muscles
can lead to many problems down
through the hips and the knees and
up through your spine. Training this
portant than just to have a 6-pack.
5. More energy. Who doesn’t want
tion. Exercise causes blood vessels
to dilate, which allows more blood
and oxygen to the muscles that are
working. This process isn’t only work-
ing while you exercise, but you’ll also strain that is placed on the body is
feel the effects afterward and have a
boost of energy for rest of the day.
6. Stay focused. The brain has an
easier time staying focused in those
who exercise regularly. Why is this?
Blood flow is improved with exercise.
Blood carries oxygen. The brain
needs oxygen to function. A sufficient
oxygen supply is allowing the brain
to have better function. Again with
the chemicals, hormones are opti-
mized with regular exercise, which
also helps the brain function. Have a
big test or presentation coming up?
Exercise for about 20 minutes before-
hand, it helps!
7. You’ll live longer. Exercise, the
fountain of youth! Exercise is over-
all just good for the body. There are
countless medical issues and dis-
eases that can be prevented or have
a decreased risk with regular exer-
cise. (See the points below for more
details on some of these disease
states.)
8. You’ll save money. Sure, now you
may be paying for a gym member-
ship, a group fitness class fee, or
home gym equipment, BUT not only
are you getting all the benefits I’m
those diseases and health condi-
tions I keep mentioning and therefore
lowering your future health costs. Ac-
cording to the Centers of Disease
Control and Prevention, states that
in 2015 we spent $3.2 trillion (yeah,
with a T) in health expenditures.
That’s almost $10,000 per person.
9. Improves self-confidence and
self-esteem. This is an easy one.
You’re gonna feel a lot better if you
are active, productive, and improving
yourself and your health compared
to sitting around, watching those
around you improve.
10. Avoid broken bones and osteo-
porosis. Weight-bearing exercise
puts a necessary stress on your
bones that make them stronger. The
actually necessary for the formation
of new bone. This new bone adds to
and increases the strength of what is
already there increasing something
called bone mineral density. The
denser your bone is, the harder it
will be to break and as you inevitably
lose bone density as you age, you’ll
have more to spare or lose less
based on how much you build up
and if you’re still active.
11. Decrease blood glucose (sugar)
and further prevent diabetes. The
extravagant increase in diabetes in
recent years is one of the reasons
why we need to steer clear of pro-
cessed foods and refined sugars.
To better explain how this works, I
have to give you a little background
on the science. Insulin is the hor-
mone that lets sugar into your cells.
In diabetes, there is an issue with
insulin that causes the body’s cells
to not respond as well or there just
isn’t enough insulin floating around
to take care of all the sugar. This
can be due to a number of factors
that just mess up the whole pro-
cess. When you exercise, your cells
actually become more sensitive to
insulin, allowing it to do its job bet-
ter, for up to 24 hours. That reduces
the amount of sugar floating in the
bloodstream and you’ll avoid all of
the damage and junk that comes
along with high blood sugar.
12. Exercise can prevent or improve