The Many Benefits Of Exercise

Exercise, why even do it? Whether you like it or not it’s the only way we can burn the excess stores of energy we have accumulated over the years, otherwise known as fat. Our body has stored it but thankfully it can get rid of it too and in order to do that, you’ve got to move. It’s the only way your lean muscle tissue can grab the surrounding fat to burn as energy.

Long after your exercise session whether it be walking, running, swimming, biking, etc, your metabolism continues to burn calories even when you are at rest. The effects of exercise can be experienced long after the actual exercise itself. This is evident in that you sweat a little easier which means your body is behaving like a fat burning furnace, any exercise you do after that point just turbo charges the exercise you’ve already done and burns extra calories.

Exercise has so many benefits:-

Exercise prolongs your life and keeps your heart healthy. Don’t forget that the heart itself is a muscle and needs exercise too. That’s why you should resist taking the easy way by going to those spas that claim you can lose weight by doing nothing or than sweating. Sure you lose inches but they find their way like a magnet back onto your body with the next glass of water you drink. Resist gimmicks, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Exercise, get your heart rate going, it’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your heart will thank you for it.

Exercise also releases your body’s natural feel good chemicals known as endorphins (a combination of the words endogenous and morphine) which naturally relieve stress. Endorphins are thought to be as powerful as morphine yet they are not addictive and are produced naturally within the body. They are also the body’s natural pain relief.

Exercise has so many additional benefits including increased agility and stamina, improved memory and reaction time, increase bone density, keeps your arteries supple and flexible for blood to flow through. Reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Stronger immune system and deeper, restful sleep.

Exercise helps you to live longer, people who do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise 3 or more times per week will generally live longer than those who don’t.

I don’t know about you but that builds a pretty strong case in favor of exercise.

Types Of Exercise

Exercise in your home.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean buying expensive gym memberships or exercise equipment.

All you have to think of is what you can do to start burning more calories than you are today.

Here are some daily calorie burning activities you can do along with the value of calories burned associated with it.

Note – before embarking on any exercise program it is highly recommended that you first consult your physician to assess your current physical state.

Note – these are the average figures for a 185 pound individual, results will vary according to weight. If you are a little heavier you will burn more calories than the figures presented below. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.
– Ironing – 189 calories

– Washing dishes – 189 calories

– Cooking – 222 calories

– Carpentry – 300 calories

– Lawn raking – 333 calories

– Mopping – 377 calories

– Housework– 390 calories

– Gardening – 455 calories

– Furniture rearranging – 555
Exercise as you can see comes in many forms not only are there practical and useful applications but you also get the added benefit of it improving your health.

However if you are serious about losing weight you have to step up your efforts a little more, these everyday household activities are great for getting exercise but as you know in order to lose even a pound of fat you need to lose 3,500 calories. It would take a lot of furniture moving and gardening for you to get to that point.

To get to the stage where you will lose weight on a consistent basis you need to add extra exercise to your routine.

Let’s start small because these are activities that can boost your level of fat burning that little bit extra.

These activities aren’t too strenuous but can help the weight come off faster.
Light Exercise

This is achievable for most people no matter what your fitness level and will kick your weight loss up a notch.

Note – these are the average figures for a 185 pound individual, results will vary according to weight. If you are a little heavier you will burn more calories than the figures presented below. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.
– An hour’s worth of Yoga stretching – 350 calories

– A relaxing bike ride for one hour – 350 calories

– Running around with your children – 350 calories

– Lawn mowing – 366 calories

– Basketball (shooting hoops) – 377 calories

– Pilates – 433 calories

– Walking (4 miles per hour) – 433 calories

– Game of golf – 480 calories

– Snow shovelling – 511 calories

– Walking up stairs – 577 calories

– Stationary bike – 588 calories

– Walking on a treadmill or jogging – 588 calories

– Low intensity jump rope – 700 calories
Light exercise is fantastic because it can be easily incorporated into our daily lives and will be the exercise most people, especially when starting off on a weight loss program will be able to do.

Once the weight starts to come off and you gain a little more confidence you no doubt will be able to introduce more rigorous exercise into your regime. When you feel within yourself your fitness level increasing you might want to try some moderate exercise.
Moderate Exercise

Here are some examples of moderate exercise. Again these figures are representative of a 185 pound person. If you weigh more than this your calorie expenditure will be much higher. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.

– Low impact Aerobics – 431 calories

– Hiking – 499 calories

– Swimming (moderate) – 511 calories

– Hiking (medium terrain) – 520 calories

– Jogging – 588 calories

– Step Aerobics – 588 calories

– Basketball officiating – 588 calories

– Jogging – 600 calories

– Rollerblading – 600 calories

– Repelling – 677 calories

– Game of Ice hockey – 700 calories

– Press-ups/sit-ups – 700 calories

– Mountain Biking – 710 calories

– Running (5 miles per hour) – 710 calories

– Ski Machine – 810 calories

– Rowing machine (minimal effort) – 820 calories

– Jump rope (moderate effort) – 860 calories
If you want to take your weight loss to newfound levels you can introduce more intense exercise to your routine known as heavy exercise. Not only will it build more fat stripping lean muscle tissue but it will make your body both inside and out stronger than ever.
Proceed with caution – these are advanced exercises and you should consult your doctor before even attempting them. Do not jump into these activities without first having built up your strength with the low and medium impact exercises above first. Not only can this damage your health but it will hurt your chances of weight loss as a result of any sustained injury.
Heavy Exercise
These exercises are the same as above but with the difference of increased intensity level.

Remember that if you have been sedentary for quite some time, you may want to build up to these activities by trying the lower intensity alternatives first.

Again these figures are representative of a 185 pound person. If you weigh more than this your calorie expenditure will be much higher. These figures are based upon 60 minutes of activity.
– Step Aerobics (high impact) – 888 calories

– Rock Climbing – 921 calories

– Basketball Full Court – 921 calories

– Bikram Yoga – 950 calories

– Elliptical Trainer – 955 calories

– Swimming (butterfly stroke) – 1,000 calories

– Handball – 1,010 calories

– A game of Squash – 1,040 calories

– Canoeing (above 6 mph) – 1,040 calories

– Jumping rope (high impact) – 1,040 calories

– Cross-country skiing (high impact) around 1,400 calories.

– Running (12 miles per hour) – 1,876 calories