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Exercise for lifeFeatured in I Love Creston Magazine - Jul, 2012 Jesse Moreton, BSc DC Not many words conjure up as many emotions and associations as “exercise.” Depending on your relationship with it you may feel comfortable with hearing it. You may also feel guilty, indifferent or motivated.
You know it’s something you should do but usually don’t for one reason or another. Whatever your reason and whatever your circumstance, chances are exercise can increase your qualify of life. How exactly does it do that?
For starters it reduces the risk of premature death. I’d say that’s a fairly good thing. Let’s get more specific.
It has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, colon and breast cancer and diabetes. If you don’t know someone who has trouble with any of the above you must be a hermit. If you don’t have someone in your own family who has problems with one of these conditions you’re also in the minority.
What’s my point? Most people have health conditions that will benefit from exercise. Let’s talk about a few other benefits.
Exercise maintains healthy body weight and fat. Note that I said “healthy body weight and fat.” Although exercise may help reduce a few extra pounds it’s not healthy to exercise and diet until you look like a toothpick.
I think of a friend from high school who played volleyball and swam competitively. She, like me, was in good shape but must have weighed twice my weight. Genetics and metabolism influence body weight as well as exercise. Even though my friend and I were both healthy we were built very differently.
It’s important we realize this fact of individualized healthy body weight and refrain from getting down by comparing our body weights and shapes to those around us. Conversely, we must be careful not to use our genes or thyroid gland as excuses to not exercise and catastrophize by saying, “There’s no point. I’ll always be big.”
What else? We’ll never get through everything at this rate. Working out maintains healthy muscles, bones and joints. It reduces depression and anxiety.
Did you catch that? It reduces depression and anxiety! What drug can do that without side effects and produce physical benefits at the same time? (Please don’t misinterpret; I understand medication has its place in cases that meet DSM-IV diagnoses.)
Exercise enhances work productivity, recreation and sport performance. These are psychological and social benefits here. Forget the physical stuff; it’s worth doing for the stress relief alone.
Ever noticed that you or someone else has been in an unexplainably good mood after a run? It’s true. Enkephalins and endorphins are released with exercise and these chemicals alter mood and pain. It’s the same result as taking a drug except the mechanism is 100-per-cent natural.
I hope that enough arguments have now been made to back up my thesis: exercise can increase your quality of life.
There are numerous other points that could fill volumes. Perhaps you have thought of some as you’ve been reading. I’ve also neglected to explain most of the physiological mechanisms: cardiac output, oxygen consumption and insulin resistance, for example.
So if you are indifferent, make a paradigm shift with the above points in mind. If you feel guilty, you know what you need to do. Try to keep it consistent this time, though.
If you are exercising already, keep it up and others will follow your lead. Last month my wife told a friend she was trying to work out more. Now her friend and husband are trying and her brother and his wife in Calgary are working out too. I wouldn’t be surprised if their social group started as well.
It’s contagious! There’s another one for the list.
For more information call Moreton Chiropractic at 250-428-3535 or
visit moretonchiropractic.blogspot.com. Comments you must login to comment
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