Getting
fit is life-changing. Fitness allows an
individual to live the life God made him to live, and to accomplish the divine
destiny that God planned for him. An exhaustive list of fitness benefits is
impossible, but there are some primary benefits that appeal to everyone,
regardless of gender, age, or occupation.
Fortunately, these benefits begin as soon as fitness improves, not when
a hyper-level of fitness is reached. Kenneth
Cooper, a medical doctor who devoted his career to studying the benefits of
exercise, states that “Becoming even moderately fit will dramatically reduce
your risk of getting cancer, heart disease, and a host of other diseases.”
Two
categories of fitness benefits will be examined, and the first is health
benefits. Regular exercise reduces the
risk of heart disease and cancer, the top two killers in America, as well as
other major health problems. People who
do not exercise have the same chance of developing heart disease as people who
smoke. The chances of stroke are reduced when 1,000 or more calories are burned
weekly through exercise. Staying fit
drastically reduces the chances of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes
because it lowers blood sugar and blood fat levels. Even for those with diabetes, exercise helps
to control the symptoms.
More
than 150 studies prove that exercise reduces stress by reducing body tension
and by strengthening coping ability.
Reduced stress and tension mean fewer tension headaches. Strength
training strengthens and builds bones, offsetting the normal bone loss that men
and women begin to experience between the ages of thirty and forty. While weight-bearing activities like walking
and running keep bones strong, strength training actually builds bone, which
reduces or eliminates the chance of osteoporosis. Starting a strength training program earlier
in life reduces the chances of osteoporosis because it allows more time to
build up bone size and strength.
Exercise
is preventive maintenance. Even moderate
exercise strengthens the immune system, and regular exercisers suffer from the
common cold half as often as non-exercisers.
Obesity increases the risk of gallstones, so getting fit reduces the
chances of gallstones and gallbladder surgery.
For women, the symptoms of PMS (bloating, lower back pain, headaches,
anxiety) are reduced with fitness, and some women who exercise regularly report
no PMS symptoms at all. Fit menopausal
women are less likely to experience hot flashes and severe mood fluctuations.
Exercise
reduces the risk of bone, joint, and muscle injuries during recreational
activities, which allows for better performance, more enjoyment, and less
worry. When injuries do occur, fit people
recover much faster. With serious
injuries, less fit people have lower survival rates and longer recovery
periods. A study of military recruits
found that those with below-average leg strength were five times more likely to
develop stress fractures in their leg bones during basic training. By strengthening the wrist and arm muscles,
exercise reduces the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome among those who do
repetitive-motion tasks.
Exercise
lowers the chance of developing high blood pressure by thirty-percent, and may
also help lower blood pressure in people who are already hypertensive. It eases lower back pain (by strengthening
the abdominal and lower back muscles), arthritis pain, and varicose vein
pain. It promotes prostate health,
higher metabolism, higher blood plasma volume (which thins the blood and
reduces the risk of clots), lower LDL cholesterol (the bad, artery-clogging low
density lipoprotein type), and lower resting heart rate. When the heart is stronger, it beats fewer
times to pump the same amount of blood, preserving the cardiovascular system.
The
second category of fitness benefits involves lifestyle. An eight-year study of more than twenty
thousand men shows that fit men live longer.
The study revealed that lean men who were unfit were twice as likely to
die earlier than men who were lean and fit, and that even overweight men who
were fit had a lower death rate than men who were lean but unfit.
Living
a long but unhealthy life is not desirable.
Health and mobility need to accompany longevity for life to be enjoyable
and productive. Fit people have less
body fat and maintain a lower set point, which is the weight a person tends to
maintain. They sleep better, spend more
time in slow-wave sleep (the most restorative phase of sleep), and wake up
during the night less often. They have
more energy, which comes directly from exerting energy during exercise. Using the excuse that exercise requires too
much energy actually keeps people from finding that exercise is a great source
of energy.
Exercise
gives an image-boost. It is the greatest
way to reshape the body. Pregnant women
who exercise have fewer aches, more energy and endurance, and better self-image
than those who do not. A review of
eighty clinical studies on depression states that depression appears to end
after four weeks of regular exercise.
Not only does exercise make people look younger, but it makes people
feel younger. It is restorative. One study found that postmenopausal women who
lifted weights twice a week for one year regained the strength and bone density
levels of women fifteen to twenty years younger. Exercise leads to better performance on the
job, which in some cases, equals more income.
It also leads to better performance recreationally and sexually.
Aside
from greater energy and strength, productivity and performance are also
improved by exercise. In a six-month
study of previously sedentary men and women ages sixty to seventy-five, those
who exercised three times per week scored 25 percent better on memory and
judgment tasks. Balance is improved,
which leads to fewer falls and injuries, especially in later years. Stronger core muscles improve posture. Flexibility improves, which also leads to
fewer injuries.
Exercise
has a positive effect on the mind, as well.
Regular exercisers perform better in school. Exercise provides an instant mood boost and
leads to improved long-term levels of happiness and satisfaction. It also provides a healthy outlet for anger
and a way to satisfy competitive urges.
The greater physical abilities provided by exercise allow for more
physical opportunities and more chances of fun.
Because exercise increases metabolism and burns calories, more food can
be eaten without gaining weight. Fit
people who exercise regularly can eat a dessert without guilt, remorse, or the
fear that clothes will no longer fit.
Saving
money and setting a good example are two final lifestyle benefits of
exercise. All the health benefits of
exercise result in less sickness and fewer doctor visits. With childhood obesity at an all-time high,
and with the average child viewing television for more than twenty hours per
week, exercising regularly sets a good example for children to follow. It shows a balance of priorities, which is
necessary to be a leader in any area of life.
Despite
all the benefits of fitness, many people still refuse to make fitness a
goal. Body building champion and
minister Ron Williams says, “Our bodies are the temple God wants to dwell in
and we should give Him a house that performs at the highest level
possible. If you are unhealthy from lack
of exercise and poor nutrition, this isn’t a threat to your salvation, nor does
it mean you won’t make it to Heaven; your unhealthy state just might cause you
to get to Heaven a little faster.”
No comments:
Post a Comment