The Benefits of Regular Exercise

There are numerous weight loss benefits of regular exercise. By simply incorporating regular exercise into your daily routine you will be able to achieve your weight loss goal much faster.

Best of all, it doesn't matter what type of exercise you do or what time of the day you do it. All that matters is that you do it on a regular basis and make it a permanent part of your lifestyle.

For example, walking around the shops or office does not constitute exercise. Neither does going for a leisurely walk with your dog. All of these are considered to be activities. Sure, they burn up some additional energy or calories over and above sitting on a couch, but they can hardly be considered to be exercise.

If you are serious about getting the numerous benefits of regular exercise, then you must be willing to put aside time each day to exercise, not simply do other tasks that need to be done (i.e. housework) and then try and call it 'exercise'.

How To Define Exercise

Here is how I define 'Exercise' compared to 'Activity':

Exercise increase your heart rate by at least 20 beats per minute above your resting heart rate

Exercise results in a noticeable increase in breathing rate

There is an increase in body temperature (that results in at least mild sweating)

Exercise involves movement that is non-stop for the entire length of the session

If your exercise session doesn't fulfill ALL of these criteria then it is considered to be an activity rather than exercise.

Please be aware that I'm not disputing the importance of being active, however, if you want to lose weight and get all the benefits of regular exercise, then you must make exercise, not just activity, a priority in your life.

It is absolutely essential that you set aside time each day to perform a form of exercise that you enjoy and can see yourself doing long term. Ideally, morning exercise seems to be the best time of the day for most people to make it a permanent part of their lifestyle but as was previously mentioned, as long as you do the exercise, that is the most important thing.

There are so many weight-loss benefits of regular exercise.
Here are just a few:

Increased calorie expenditure
Not only does regular exercise increase the expenditure of calories (energy) during the exercise session itself but it also keeps your metabolism elevated, which means you will keep burning extra calories after the exercise has been completed.

The amount of extra calories you burn post-exercise is primarily determined by the intensity and duration of the exercise being performed, i.e. the harder you exercise and the longer you exercise for will result in more calories being burnt after the exercise is completed.

Physical adaptations to exercise
There are some physical adaptations to regular exercise that make the body become a more efficient fat burner, which may then translate into greater weight loss. Most of these adaptations have to do with an improvement in the body's ability to absorb and utilise oxygen more efficiently. These are major benefits of regular exercise.

For example, heart and lung capacities increase as a result of regular exercise. This means that the intake of oxygen and transport of it around the body improves significantly. Since oxygen is an essential component of aerobic (with oxygen) metabolism, which is the best way to burn fat in the body, the better you can absorb oxygen and transport it means that your body becomes a more efficient burner of fat for fuel.

Also, an effect called, 'capillarisation' occurs. This means that the body increases the number of capillaries surrounding each muscle fibre. Therefore, more oxygen and more fatty acids may be transported to the working muscles both during exercise and throughout the day.

The number of red blood cells increases, which means there is more haemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells) available in the body to carry the oxygen around. The level of myoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in muscle cells) also increases.

There is also an increase in the oxidative enzymes in muscle tissue. These enzymes increase the rate at which the muscle utilise fuel, particularly fat, as an energy source.

The number of mitochondria within muscle cells also increases. Mitochondria are the 'engine rooms' of cells. It is where all fuels are burnt up.

Feelings of well being
Exercise is known to stimulate the production of endorphins, which are 'opiate-like' hormones in the body that are produced in response to certain types of stress. These hormones are often produced in runners and result in the 'runner's high' that is experienced by many people.

It is said that these endorphins may create an 'addiction to exercise', whereby people are more likely to perform a regular exercise program because of this 'addiction' and may even suffer from 'withdrawal symptoms' when they miss a training session!

Overall, the importance of regular exercise for everyone, especially people who want to lose weight, cannot be over-emphasised. If you would like to obtain the benefits of regular exercise that have been mentioned here, as well as achieve your weight-loss goal much faster, simply select the type or types of exercise you enjoy and incorporate them into your current lifestyle.

You'll be glad you did!

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