How often do you exercise?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults at least get around 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity weekly. Taking care of health and well-being, especially finding the time to exercise, is usually not the top priority for some people.
If you’re one of those people, or if you’re looking for additional motivations to stick to your fitness routine, continue reading and find some of the reasons why moderate to vigorous exercises are good for you.
There are more benefits to exercise than building muscle.
Understanding moderate and vigorous exercise
What counts as moderate exercise? How about vigorous exercise?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, it is anything that gets your heart beating faster.
American Heart Association says that when you’re doing moderate exercise, you are breathing harder than when you are inactive. But you are still able to speak.
Moderate-intensity cardio activities include brisk walking, mopping floors, sweeping the yard, or playing tennis with a partner.
If your heart rate monitor shows that you’re working at 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate, then you are engaging in vigorous exercise. Another indication is if you can’t say more than a few words without gasping for breath.
Vigorous activities include biking, carrying heavy loads, and playing tennis (singles).
Benefits of Moderate to Vigorous Exercises
Improve brain health
Moderate and vigorous physical activity can improve your thinking and cognition. Regular exercise induces good blood flow that delivers all the nutrients that your brain needs to do its job. It also increases the production of molecules important for brain functions such as memory.
Elevate mood
Exercise is not all about physical wellness but mental wellness, too! It can boost your mood and give you a more positive outlook on life. The levels of chemicals in your brain responsible for your mood, such as serotonin, stress hormones, and endorphins, change when you exercise.
Not only that, but exercise can distract you from negative thoughts and can improve your sense of control and self-esteem.
Help with weight management
Your eating pattern is not just the sole factor you need to consider when trying to achieve your weight goals. Both eating patterns and exercise intensity play a vital role in weight management.
You can gain weight when you eat more than the number of calories you burn, meaning you exercise less or don’t exercise at all.
On the other hand, you can lose weight when you engage in more physical activity, burning more calories than what you consume. This is a form of calorie deficit.
Reduce your risk of heart diseases
Stroke and heart disease are two of the leading causes of death here in the United States. And the good thing is that getting just at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise can put you at a lower risk of cardiovascular-related diseases.
It does so by strengthening your heart muscle. When you do regular moderate to vigorous exercise, you are also improving your heart’s ability to pump blood to your lungs and throughout your body. More blood flows to your muscles, and oxygen levels in your blood rise as a result.
Lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
Some researchers have found that people who do moderate to vigorous intensity exercises have up to 74% of developing type II diabetes compared to those who have a sedentary lifestyle.
One of the reasons why is that lack of exercise can cause your muscle cells to lose their sensitivity to insulin. Insulin controls the level of sugar in your blood.
Combats metabolic syndrome
What is metabolic syndrome? Metabolic syndrome is a combination of three or more of the following: too much fat around the waist, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) or good cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high triglycerides.
Aside from choosing meals with low saturated fat and high amounts of veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, regular exercise can also help with metabolic syndrome.
Some research shows that exercise is significantly associated with a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome.
Boost immune system
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that adults who meet the muscle-strengthening physical activity and aerobic guidelines are half as likely to die from flu and pneumonia compared to other adults who don’t meet the same guidelines.
Moderate-intensity exercise can also increase the circulation of immune cells. But know that not only does exercise get the immune cells circulating throughout your body DURING the exercise, but these immune cells are present for up to three hours AFTER you are done with your workout.
This gives the immune cells extra time to identify unwanted intruders and keep you from getting sick. This gives your immune cells more time to spot any unwelcome invaders, such as viruses or bad bacteria, helping to prevent you from falling ill.
Strengthen bones
Keeping your bones and joints healthy as you age can help you do your daily activities and be more physically active. Your muscles pulling on your bones build stronger, denser bones. How does it happen?
Bones are living tissues. It changes over time as a response to a constant force on it. When you make exercising a habit and pair it with getting enough calcium and vitamin D, your bones become denser.
Conclusion
And that’s only eight of the benefits of regular moderate to vigorous physical activity. With proper nutrition and exercise, you are putting a step forward toward better health – both physical and mental.
