subject: Remind Yourself Often Of Why You Need To Exercise [print this page] No matter what our reasons for improving our exercise and eating habits we need to be reminded from time to time why exactly we all need to do it. Sometimes we forget why we need to motivate ourselves and keep going with our exercise program and working on eating better. After all know one really knows if we bother or not, but underneath if we neglect it our body starts to deteriorate in slow but subtle ways.Here are some of the benefits so we can remind ourselves of our needs.A proper exercise (strength training) program:1) Means a healthier body composition (muscle tissue/fat ratio).Without proper exercise body fat increases and muscle tissue decreases. This may not be obvious as the fat sneaks into spaces left by the lost muscle tissue so there can be little change in how you look and little change in body weight. But this is not a good thing as muscle tissue drives the rate we burn fuel (calories) its loss means we burn less fat and so more gets stored and we can easily become overweight.2) Disease-proof your body. The epidemic of chronic lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes and dozens of others in our modern world are caused by not doing enough muscular activity. When the human body weakens all of its systems and processes weaken as well leaving it susceptible to disease. 3) Restoring health after disease or illness. There is not a single medical condition that cannot be helped by a stronger healthier body. A proper exercise program that contains mostly strength training exercise should be the very first treatment option if one is diagnosed with a serious disease. The human body has remarkable healing capabilities but needs to be strong and healthy to do this. We are not programmed to be healed by chemicals and they can often do more harm than good. They certainly can never ever build a strong healthy body.As many of the nasty diseases are caused by inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle simply making that change can chase them away. Add in great nutrition and you have a formidable army against most diseases. Ditching the junk and the processed foods that contain little to zero nutrition is the first place to start. Replace them with 'whole' foods cooked from scratch and as many raw vegetables as possible.4) Enhance mental and emotional health. Physical strength and wellbeing is interwoven with our mental and emotional fitness. Neglect your physical body and you are much more at risk of problems related to controlling stress, anxiety, depression, low self esteem, and low self worth. Not really a recipe for a healthy happy life.So, you can see how much value there is in a simple proper strength training program done just 2-3 times each week. If you want to do endurance type recreational activity like walking, jogging or cycling do it after your proper exercise as these are just 'fun' things and are part of an active lifestyle but do not work your muscles in the way they need to be worked for true health. No one ever regretted being strong and healthy and it is accessible for us all. The time you spend on yourself in this manner is the best possible investment you can make in your own life and its future.
