Being physically active: A natural medicine

LACK of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and physical exercise save it and preserve it. In my own point of view, it’s generally understood that exercise is crucial for maintaining good health. But it’s worth pointing out some of the extra physiological benefits of staying active that move beyond muscle strength and joint and tendon health. Right now, if you were to get up out of your seat and walk into the next room and back, a whole host of processes would be activated throughout your body that would bring you countless health benefits. With just few steps, you would initiate subtle changes in your breathing, your heart rate, your adrenal system, and your brain, to name a few. That on top of the changes and benefits you’d be getting by activating your musculoskeletal system. You’d be likely to lower your stress level and prompt your body to release hormones that will strengthen your immune system and boost your overall health and sense of well-being.

A healthier heart

The heart is a muscle. And, like all muscles, it thrives when it is really put to work regularly. Few people know it, but inactivity is actually one of the leading causes of coronary artery disease, the name for any heart related problem, ranging from angina and arrhythmic to fatal heart attacks, which is caused by problems with the arteries leading from heart attack. Early in life, the risks of inactivity begin to build steadily.

People who exercise regularly and at high intensity have the lowest risk of developing heart disease. Indeed, a person who maintains an active lifestyle has a 45 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than a sedentary person. When we are exerting ourselves physically, we pump oxygen into our hearts, which expands the blood vessels and arteries, allowing blood to flow efficiently and freely through them. Exercise also improves cholesterol and lipid levels, further protecting us from heart disease. Regular exercise also stimulates the immune system to decrease proteins that help cause plaque buildup in the arteries and to increase the proteins that prevent it.

Exercise soothes

Many people believe that when they are stressed out, the best remedy is to hole up and become inactive. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Engaging in a brisk walk or an exercise class will not only tone your body (and mind) from the ravages of stress. Stress in its elemental form is a normal physiological response to danger. Our body releases the hormones we need to react appropriately. It is called the fight-or-flight response. Naturally, we need to fight or flee if we are about to be attacked. But when stress is chronic, when we feel like fighting or fleeing nearly all the time, something is not quite right is going on.

Our bodies are being flooded with hormones such as cortisol. Although it helps prepare us for the struggle or flight from danger by increasing blood sugar levels, it also depresses the immune system, making us more prone to illness and less able to heal from injuries. In someone who is already predisposed to developing diabetes, chronically high blood sugar levels fuel the problem.

When stress is chronic, all sorts of physical damage can occur. Our cells may weaken. Blood pressure becomes elevated. The immune system loses some of it’s ability to fight off bacteria and viruses. Exercise combats the damage caused by stress. When we exercise, our bodies release counter balancing soothing hormones (endorphins and the like) into our bloodstream. These calming hormones are responsible for that legendary runner’s high, a yogi sense of serenity and a tennis player’s moving into a zone.

Being physically fit calms our nerves, allow us to get a better night sleep, and keeps our brains sharp and ready for anything. There is, quite simply, no better stress buster. Being fitter means literally that it takes more stress, either the physical or emotional kinds, to trigger the stress response.

Pounds off

We all know that dieting calorie restriction and exercise go hand in hand. Exercising does not guarantee greater weight loss. If you reduce your caloric intake without exercise, your body sheds both fat and muscle which is not a good thing. When we lose muscle, our metabolism slows down considerably and that’s another way of saying our bodies go into starvation mode. And it becomes even harder to lose weight, not to mention do pretty much anything else.

Engaging in physical activity of any kind will help you get leaner and stay that way. Any cardiovascular exercise (jogging, running, non-stop swimming, cycling, brisk or power walking, etc.). As long as you expend more energy than you consume, you will get leaner. The key is finding some kind of movement that brings pleasure. Once you discover that, it’s almost a guarantee that you will do that movement regularly.

Exercising vigorously also elevates your metabolism and encourages your body to burn calories more efficiently which means it burns more faster. And this, too, helps you lose excess fat. You have likely heard the saying that “muscle weighs more than fat.” Although this just can’t be true, muscle is more dense and compact than fat and so it takes up much less space in your body. That’s why if you build muscle, you may not lose any pounds but you will lose inches, and your body clothes may become looser. And you will look as though you have lost weight because you have denser muscle tissue.

Here’s a question about strength training: How long does it take before I see improvements of my muscles?

Most people start to see changes after six weeks of weight lifting, but I can’t give you an exact answer. Results depend on your type, your starting point, and the amount of time and effort you devote to lifting weight. In general, those who have the furthest to go make the most dramatic changes.