Top 5 benefits of physical activity for our body

Top 5 Benefits of Physical Activity

Physical activity is beneficial for both our body and mind in many ways, but the top 5 benefits of physical activity are:

• Weight Management
• Improving Body Health 
• Reducing Stress and Anxiety
• Creating a positive mindset
• Energy Boost

Weight management

Physical activity is helpful for both weight loss and weight gain. By exercising, you will lose more calories and go down in weight. That way, our body will ”burn” the calories and force the body into weight loss. Be aware that you also need to control your calorie intake through food. By combining those two, you will achieve your results faster. 

Physical activity can help you with weight gain too. Activities such as strength training will increase your muscle mass, and therefore your weight. Muscles are also known as a ”calorie station” which means that 10 pounds of muscles burn around 50 calories per day. 

Because of a large impact on our body shape and composition, weight management is one of the top 5 benefits of physical activity.

For people who want to lose extra pounds, a combination of aerobic type training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is recommended. Aerobic training refers to light running, while high-intensity interval training refers to sprints. HIIT is training at short intervals of high intensity. It is very effective in removing fat deposits but can be very strenuous.

For others who want to gain muscle mass, strength and endurance exercises are recommended. Strength exercises should be done 3x a week, where the emphasis is on the number of repetitions from 8 to 12 in each exercise. Exercises that involve large muscle groups such as the back, legs or chest give the best effect.

Improving body health

With regular physical activity, your body will adapt in several ways. 

• improve immune system
• prevent arthritis
• decrease blood pressure
• improve bone density / reduce the risk for osteoporosis
• lowering the bad cholesterol
• improve metabolism
• better sleep
• lower the risk of type 2 diabetes

Regular physical activity has a good effect on the cardiovascular system. Blood sugar regulation, as well as blood pressure control, are some of the benefits of regular exercise. The heart pumps more blood to all parts of the body, which speeds up the recovery of muscles, joints and skin. The resting heart rate decreases, which means that the heart is less stressed during rest or training. As for the lungs, there is better lung function and a decrease in respiratory rate.

Joints become more resistant to strenuous physical activity and the chances of arthritis occur dramatically. Muscles have the ability to hypertrophy, which means that over time they will become stronger and more resistant to physical exertion. Stronger muscles will also affect posture and athletic performance.

Reducing stress and anxiety

Regular physical activity over a while can reduce the stress that accumulates over time. With simple activities such as walking, running, swimming, or riding a bike for 30min per day, you can make a significant improvement in relaxing the mind and reducing stress. People who suffer from anxiety are more prone to avoid physical activity. Physical activity can help them boost self-esteem, overcome the fear of challenges and alleviate stress.

Physical activity is a way to deal with the stress and tension that accumulates in everyday life. It has been scientifically proven that physical activity affects mood and reduces the chances of depression.

Creating a positive mindset

Physical activity combats depression and creates a positive way of thinking. Physically active people see the world as a journey and potential problems like a challenge that needs to be overcome. That kind of positive attitude is essential for our growth, both personal or financial. 

A positive mindset is a very powerful thing that can shape someone’s reality. A person who is always positive when he encounters a challenge in his life has a better chance of overcoming the challenge. Training is actually a physical challenge that a person must overcome to become stronger. Everyday physical challenge creates the habit of challenging and advancing in other areas of life.

As they said in ancient Greece: medicine cannot replace exercise, but exercise can replace any medicine.

Energy boost

Boosting the endorphin level in your body and blood flow, you will get both an energy boost and a better mood. Even though training can be hard and exhausting sometimes, you will benefit from it. Your energy level will rise and you will feel and move better. This increase can have a positive impact on other aspects of your life. 

Summary

Implementing a physical activity is a good thing, and you will benefit a lot from it. The top 5 benefits of physical activity should help you understand how much impact physical activity has on our mind and body. 

If you haven’t trained in a while and want to start training again, you can read our guide on how to start training again.

Thank you for your attention, we hope that you have enjoyed reading this post. Feel free to comment and suggest any idea you have. Start exploring other topics here.