How Exercising Can Increase Your Lifespan

Picking up your running shoes so you can sweat for miles doesn’t sound like your favourite thing to do when you are trying to create your daily schedule. However, you should.

You might be familiar with the general benefits that exercising has to offer like reducing blood pressure, weight loss, improved moods, etc. What you might not know is that exercising not only improves your health, but can also increase your lifespan.

Scientific study has shown us that regular routine exercise affects the body down to the cellular level and slows down the aging process of the body. This means regular routine exercises can increase your life expectancy. Want to know more about this? Keep reading and find out!

How Does Exercising Increase Your Lifespan?

Asides getting that hourglass shape that will make every outfit you try on look like it was designed specifically for you, exercising has a lot more benefits that exceed aesthetics.

As you age, the muscles and tissues in your body experience inflammation. However, regular exercise helps to reduce the rate at which the process occurs in your body. This helps to curb the aging process. In other words, you get to live longer!

Doing regular fifteen to thirty minutes workouts can literally add years to your life.

Here’s the thing, certain fatal illnesses like diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, hypertension, even cancer, are caused as a result of high sugar or cholesterol level in the body.

They are known to be major risk factors for the high mortality rate in both old and young adults. (So, don’t say I’m only 23. It’s none of my business. It sure is!)

These days, it is scary to see ten-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds battling with diabetes when they still have their entire life ahead of them. You honestly want to take better care of your health, irrespective of your age.

The chances of dying due to health issues reduces by 30–35% when you keep your body fit with exercises.

With that said, instead of ordering that family sized extra cheese pizza, let’s try digging into some vegetables and ordering that workout kit you’ve been eyeing for months but haven’t gotten round to buying. Your body will thank you for it.

What Kind of Exercises Should You Do?

There is no clear cut regimen for exercising. Find out what works for you and stick with it. You don’t have to do rigorous exercises like you are training to become an athlete.

Simple routine exercises like walking, jogging, running, jump ropes, jumping jacks, squats, etc everyday will go a long way in improving your overall health.

You also don’t have to go to a gym or hire a personal trainer before you can start working out. You just need to start with a step. The beautiful thing about exercising is that every step counts.

This means that you don’t need to go mountain climbing or run five miles to let your body know that something is being done to it.

In fact, the basic standard demanded for healthy living and an increase of up to seven years life expectancy is 15 minutes to 30 minutes of work out everyday, then 150 to 300 minutes in a week.

The flex? There is no specific rule to it.

You can decide to take a thirty minutes stroll in the morning before going to work, or even break it into morning and evening to save time.

You can decide to jog for ten minutes and walk for twenty. You can choose to workout everyday or four times a week.

You make the rules, so just find a routine that you can easily follow through with.

Easy, consistent workout will have more effect on your body than a rigorous workout that you do once a week, and it will cause less strain on your body.

You can also try using a workout app. It is equivalent to having a personal trainer at home with you. The only problem with using a workout app is disciplining yourself to follow instructions as they are given when you know nobody is going to chastise you for caving in.

Still, nothing good comes easy right?

Note that it is very important to ensure that you start easy.

Whether you are just starting for the first time, or you used to and then you stop for some reason. When you plan to continue again, you should always start small.

This is because when you work out, you flex muscles, and rigorous workouts without proper warm ups can lead to muscle tear in worst case scenarios. Start small, let your body get accustomed to that level of training, then slowly build it up.

You can check out good workout apps on Play store that can help you monitor your developments. It will help you pace yourself in a way that you won’t end up hurting yourself.

Some even come with extra features like a BMI calculator, so you can stay on top of things when it comes to your health status.

What Kind of Exercises Should You Not Do?

Errm… I don’t think this question even needs to be thought about. None!

Every exercise is good exercise.

There is no exercise that is bad for your body. Your body might struggle more with some compared to others, but it doesn’t mean that it’s bad for your health. You just need to find what works for you.

Some people find it easier to skip than to jog. Some find it easier to run than to swim. Whichever works better for you, stay consistent with it and watch your body undergo a glorious rebirth.

Obesity can cause you to get predisposed to various heart related diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and even give rise to the growth of kidney disease.

Exercising isn’t about whether you are skinny or plus sized. Whether you’re slim or chubby, it is very possible to get diabetes, hypertension and other heart related diseases when you don’t pay attention to your health and lifestyle choices.

This is why regular routine exercises shouldn’t be a luxury but a necessity.

10 Real Life Benefits of Exercising

As mentioned earlier, exercising has a number of health benefits for you to enjoy. Some of which are:

1. It reduces blood pressure and as such, the risk of hypertension.

High blood pressure is hereditary, so you might want to check if there has been a history of people with high blood pressure in your family. If there is, you might want to start making some lifestyle changes.

2. It reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus type 2.

High sugar levels in the blood can result in diabetes, if not controlled. This is why regular medical check up is advised. Especially if you have a family history of diabetic patients or predecessors that have been predisposed to diabetes.

3. It reduces the risk of stroke.

When a person is diagnosed as diabetic, it is important that the person regularly monitors their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose. This is because diabetes increases the chances of getting a stroke.

4. It reduces the risk of dyslipidemia.

Dyslipidemia refers to a medical condition in which the cholesterol or fats in the blood experience an abnormal increase.

Dyslipidemia predisposes to stroke, heart attacks, and clogged arteries. Especially in people that smoke frequently. Obesity, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet can result in dyslipidemia.

5. It reduces the risk of heart diseases and cancer.

6. It helps to improve mood.

When you work out, your body releases endorphins. This hormone is often referred to as the “feel good” hormone and it helps to improve your mood substantially.

So next time you’re sad, instead of opening that tub of ice cream, how about you pick up your running shoes and hit the gym?

7. It improves cognitive abilities and helps with memory loss.

8. It also boosts the immune system.

When you consistently engage in moderate-intensity exercise, it can result in cellular immunity. This is because physical activities increase the circulation of immune cells in the body.

The white blood cells are the soldiers of the body that fight off infections that try to attack your body. Exercising stimulates these white blood cells thereby boosting your immune system.

9. It enhances digestion.

Nothing aids digestion like working out. Indigestion can be a real pain in the butt, especially if it causes you to stool or vomit. Next time you feel that way, try eating lots of fibre rich fruits and exercise.

10. It reduces the inflammation of muscles and tissues in the body that are concerned with aging.

This, of course, results in an increased life span.

Conclusion

In recent times, there has been lots of talk about the health benefits of having regular routine exercise. While it might seem like most people are just trying to follow the fit fam trend, it is definitely worth the talk.

Exercising boosts your self esteem and gives you a sense of fulfillment. It is tempting sometimes to just lay around all day like a couch potato, but remember, every step counts.

All images are sourced from istockphoto