Fitness Benefits -Mind and Body

benefits to fitness

Psychological Fitness Benefits 

The psychological fitness benefits alone make it worth considering as a necessity.

When you are fit, you will:

  • feel more vibrant and more alive
  • manage stress levels better
  • have more chance of preventing burnout
  • suffer less with depression, hopelessness and a sense of failure
  • release ‘feel good’ chemicals in the brain: this improves mood and decreases cravings for foods (so, guess what? Exercise also helps prevent bingeing
  • have a better body image and self-esteem and
  • feel more in control of your life - physical fitness is one of the best mind makeovers around. Exercising can shift and lift your mood.


    • Physical benefits of Exercise

    The physical benefits to fitness are vast. Being fit helps you to:

  • have more energy
  • de-stress
  • breathe more deeply.
  • improve the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood (which improves mental proficiency, prevents cancer and helps with fat-burning
  • improve your muscle tone which changes your body shape (muscle tone makes muscles more shapely)
  • improve lymph circulation (excess fluid and toxins in a sluggish lymph system can contribute to cellulite formation
  • improve circulation
  • help prevent formation of blood clots
  • improve the delivery of nutrients to your entire body and minerals to your brain
  • grow more capillaries in muscles (especially in the heart muscle)
  • increase the production of fat burning enzymes thereby speeding up your metabolism (this breaks down fat deposits and helps you reach your natural weight)
  • lowers resting pulse so your heart does not have to work as hard


    • benefits of fitness, benefits to exercise
  • improve tissue repair
  • reduce high blood pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis, stress, tension, fatty deposits in your arteries, strokes, heart problems, diabetes as well as the risk of cancer and back pain
  • decrease LDL cholesterol (the bad kind)
  • increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind)
  • increase resistance to colds and flu
  • enhance the efficiency of your digestive system


    • There are so many more fitness benefits and doing regular exercise also helps you:

  • have regular bowel movements
  • control tummy hunger once you are fit (exercise may make you feel more hungry, after all, the more fuel your body uses the more fuel it needs. Sometimes though, especially initially, it's just your mind insisting it needs rewarding for having been ‘good’.
  • improves balance
  • relax and sleep better (and you’ll need fewer hours of sleep too)


    • And here's another really important benefit to being active...

    In addition, certain types of exercise – such as some of those done in water aerobics are also prescribed in brain gym (using both hemispheres of the brain). They help to improve memory and concentration and lessen stress (and don’t forget that less stress often leads to less ‘comfort eating’. ).

    PS.  Remember that the word fitness from a biological perspective means:  An organisms ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.  So anything our genes read as increasing fitness will cause an increase in the production of those genes.  

    Some of the fitness benefits, especially those revolving around our metabolism need a bit more explanation because one of the major benefits to being active is that it determines the difference between whether you are Are you fit or fat? Can you be 'thin' on a scale yet overfat? Or could you can you be 'fat' on a scale but fit?

    A bonus benefit of exercise - it speeds up your metabolism

    Understanding your basal metabolic rate and thermogenesis can change how you view exercise and weight control.

    Link to Exercise Myths
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