3 Reasons Exercise is Good For You (That Aren’t About Weight, Fitness or Looks)

Most of the articles you read about exercise always sell it the same way. We know the drill by now: if you want to be fit, thin and healthy, you should exercise. But the thing is that while these are excellent reasons to start exercising, they don’t last very long. After a few training sessions, exercise doesn’t really weigh up against cakes and TV on the pleasure scale.

So what if you don’t care too much about having an incredible body and you are healthy enough, thank you very much?

The news you need to hear is this: exercise does far more for you than you might think. 

Improve Your Motor Skills

We aren’t hunter-gatherers anymore. It’s fair to say that the skills our cave-dwelling ancestors required to get their next meal don’t quite equate to our trip to the supermarket. However, there is a lot to be said for developing your motor skills. Building your strength and flexibility, as well as things like balance and hand-eye coordination, is essential throughout life. Indeed, there is good evidence to show that complex motor skills can reduce falls in older people as well as cognitive health.

Ball games and activities like dancing are ideal for building your complex motor skills and have the added advantage of being fun! Try doing basketball drills or following a video at home to get started but do branch out and try other sports and activities too. The more different things you learn, the more you will stimulate your brain, which is also good for staving off other later-life conditions such as dementia.

We might focus on building motor skills in early childhood but the reality is that we can all benefit from these skills. The best option is always to continue good habits – don’t wait until you are unsteady on your feet to get back into exercising! 

Build Your Confidence 

If sticking with exercise hasn’t worked so far, then please, please stick with it this time. Exercise is brilliant for building your confidence because it shows you what you are capable of but you need to stick with it for around 6 months before you are likely to notice the difference. Pass this milestone and get into a routine and just imagine the benefits you could reap!

Yoga is a particularly good form of exercise for building your confidence because it also gives you a chance to exercise mindfully. Instead of running yourself to a near-death experience, yoga allows you to move at your own pace, gently stretching and improving in your own time. As you get better at yoga and your core strength improves, you will also be able to learn more complex poses, giving you a clear way to acknowledge your new skills.

Going to group workout sessions is also a lovely way to meet new people and make friends. Widening your social circle will naturally boost your confidence as you realize that you are well-liked and fun to be around! You might not be friends with everyone but putting yourself out there is a really healthy approach to life in general. The secret of confident people is this: they don’t put high stakes on everything they do; they approach life as a chance to learn. Once you’ve got that, you’ll flourish. 

Reduce Your Pain and Feel Amazing

When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which, according to WebMD, “interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain.” In fact, endorphins act a lot like morphine. So, if you are feeling achy and have cramps from sitting at your desk all day, nothing is going to make you feel better than doing some exercise to release the tension and kill the pain.

Endorphins are also a really important component in boosting your mood. Exercising might not seem the most obvious way to alleviate depression but actually, it is ideal for mild to moderate depression because there aren’t any side-effects to worry about. Some people really like social sports as group activities help us feel more included but others prefer calming activities like forest bathing or hiking.

Exercise has so many benefits that focusing on having a beach body is a ridiculous approach to take. The best reasons to exercise are never going to be the ones you can see. You should exercise because it makes you feel good and because it will give you a long and healthy life. No matter what your body looks like, looking after it is the best gift you can give yourself.

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