17 Oct Four lesser known benefits of exercising

We all know that regular exercise can improve things like cardiovascular performance, muscle tone and help prevent weight gain.
However, exercise has countless other benefits that will make you feel and look better.
Here are four lesser-known benefits of exercising:
1. Keeps your skin looking younger – By increasing the circulation and perspiration that exercise causes, more nutrients are delivered to the skin and more waste products are consequently removed. Translation: healthier complexion.
2. Healthy mood enhancer – You don’t need drugs or alcohol to feel good if you exercise regularly. Working out can provide a natural high that becomes addictive in a good way.
Exercise releases endorphins, which are brain chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel happy. This also helps relieve stress, and build your self-confidence.
Many studies have discovered that exercise also increases neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which gives people a natural high and helps us to sleep better.
3. Improves bone density – Most people don’t realize that when they’re working out, not only are muscles being strengthened, but so are bones.
During weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging, lifting weights, yoga and dancing, bones adjust to the back and forth pull of the muscles and by straining build more bone cells. This increases strength and density and lowers the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
This concept is why it’s so important for senior citizens to continue exercising the best they can because once a person loses a lot of bone strength it’s a quick downhill road.
Walking on a treadmill, using light dumbbells and exercising on a vibration training machine are great ways seniors can maintain muscle and bone strength.
4. Improves immunity – Exercise ramps up the rate at which antibodies move through the bloodstream.
And here’s a neat side note to this: Our body temperature increases during moderate exercise, which not only cooks fat but also certain infectious organisms that may be trying to set up in our bodies.
Note: Always check with a physician before starting a new exercise program.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com