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Benefits of Exercise on Cardiovascular
Risk Factors:
- Regular physical exercise can:
- Help you lose weight, especially fat weight.
- Improve your bodies ability to maximally uptake oxygen
and deliver oxygen to your working muscles (defined as your VO2 Max).
This measure is generally regarded as the best measure of your physical
fitness level.
- Lower your resting heart rate, by allowing your heart
to pump more blood per beat. This means your heart is not working
as hard when you are at rest.
- Lower or help control your blood pressure, both systolic
and diastolic. This is especially important for people with high blood
pressure-hypertension.
- Lower your Body Mass Index (BMI). This is the ratio
of body weight (in kilograms) to height (in meters). Increased BMI
is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality.
- Reduce total cholesterol. This includes lowering
LDL-the bad type of cholesterol, and increasing HDL-the good type
of cholesterol.
- Reduce circulating levels of triglycerides. This
is the amount of free fatty acid found in the blood.
- Improves the functioning of your immune system.
- Reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Increases insulin sensitivity to prevent against
type II diabetes (adult onset diabetes).
- Reduce the risk of having a stroke.
Benefits of Exercise for the Aging
Process and Functional Capacity
- Regular physical exercise can:
- Increase your level of muscular strength.
- Increase your stamina and ability to do continuous
work.
- Increase or maintain your bone mineral density to
prevent osteoporosis.
- Increase muscular endurance.
- Help you maintain your resting metabolic rate to
prevent weight gain.
- Provide protection against injury.
- Maintain or improve joint integrity.
- Help you to maintain an independent lifestyle.
- Improves your balance and coordination.
- Reduce the risk of developing colon cancer.
- Reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
Benefits of Exercise for Mental
Health and Well-Being
Regular physical exercise can:
- Reduce your level of anxiety.
- Help you manage stress more effectively.
- Improve your positive self-esteem and confidence.
- Help alleviate depression.
- Improve your appearance.
- Help you relax.
- Combat the likelihood of many degenerative problems.
- Improve your overall quality of life.
- Teach you about goal-setting and dedication.
- Can assists in efforts to stop smoking.
- Help to relieve and prevent migraine headache attacks.
- Can help you sleep more restfully.
- Help improve your immune system.
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