Exercise for Your Life

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Being active has always been part of who I am.  When I was growing up, I loved to play volleyball and basketball in our yard.  It proved to be fun, but also a good stress reliever. As an adult, I have continued to enjoy being active.  I relish going for walks, hikes, still playing volleyball and exercising. 

When my children were younger, I exercised at home because it was easier with my growing family. I always felt like I was a fairly disciplined person when it came to making exercising a priority.  I continued this until a few years ago when I started going to a few exercise classes and loved the camaraderie of being together with like-minded individuals who were encouraging and positive.  It also kept me accountable to make sure I didn’t skip out on my exercise. 😊 However, with the advent of the events of 2020, I’m back to exercising at home.

This past summer, I stayed very active doing many outside activities, but since the weather has gotten a bit more unpredictable and chillier, I knew I needed to get more serious about prioritizing exercise again indoors.  I needed to make myself accountable, so it was time to just get at it and not say, “Oh, I’ll start tomorrow.”  I have TODAY, so why put it off for another minute.  There will always be something else I could be doing, but recognizing the benefits of exercising and the impact it can have on my physical and mental well-being makes me lace up my shoes and get started.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of exercising.  We all need a little motivation or reminder sometimes.

First: Weight Loss

This tends to be the most obvious one, but let’s take a closer look.  Our bodies work on energy taken in through the food we eat.  If we take in more energy from food than we burn through our activities and body functions, than we will gain weight.  The more strenuous our activities are leads to more energy used which equals more calories burned.  The more you can increase your activity in a day, the more calories you will burn.  If you burn more than you take in, you will start to lose weight.  If you are trying to maintain your weight, you must keep that balance between calories in and calories out pretty equal.  You might be thinking, well I can just reduce my calories instead of increasing my activity.  While this might sound good in theory, the reduction in calories will lower your metabolic rate which will slow weight loss.  Regular exercise, however, increases your metabolic rate which will help you burn more calories and in turn help you lose weight.

Second: Healthy Body

Maintaining a healthy weight leads right into this next topic.  There are all kinds of diseases that can be prevented or improved by simply exercising.  Some of the most common physical ailments are heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, risk of stroke and osteoporosis.  Being active boosts your high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, “good cholesterol,” and decreases your low-density lipoproteins (LDL), “bad cholesterol,” and unhealthy triglycerides.  This causes your blood system to flow better and be more efficient which reduces your risks to the cardiovascular system.  Exercising helps maintain proper insulin management which decreases your risks for Type 2 diabetes. Exercising also helps build up muscle and bones.  This becomes ever more important as we age due to the fact that muscle mass and bone density naturally decrease.  By exercising, you maintain or increase both muscle mass and bone density which combats osteoporosis.

Third:  Mental Health

Yes, you read that right!  You will have a more optimistic attitude if you exercise.  Physical activity stimulates chemicals in your brain like serotonin and norepinephrine which are responsible for making you feel more positive and happier besides reducing anxiety and stress.  Exercise also increases the production of endorphins which are the “feel-good hormones” and produce positive feelings and reduce your perception of pain.  Exercise is a good stress reliever.  Have a bunch of built up stress and angst?  Exercise is an outlet to alleviate it and in turn activate all the positive hormones.  When you start to feel “good” you also exhibit more confidence because you feel better about yourself. It’s a win-win. 

Fourth:  Better Sleep

I never had any trouble sleeping, but when I exercise consistently and with moderate intensity, I notice how much better and tighter I sleep.  I feel like I sleep really well.  Who doesn’t want that?  If you want to fall asleep faster and experience better and deeper sleep, get out and do some regular physical activity.

These 4 benefits are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of exercising, but they are definitely significant enough to hopefully convince you that it is worth the effort.

Recently, I started Carrie Underwood’s FIT52 LIFE exercise program which is featured in her newest book Find Your Path—Honor your body, fuel your soul, and get strong with the FIT52 LIFE https://amzn.to/2KaH3M1 .  This is a perfect program to do at home.  You really need a minimal amount of equipment, a simple deck of cards and you are ready to take part in a full body workout.  The first time I completed one of the workouts, I was sweating like crazy and I knew I was working hard with activities that you would not consider to be overly strenuous.  Her clever plan that she helped create with her trainer, keeps the workouts fresh, challenging, and exciting by using a deck of cards as the basis for what and how many reps you will do with each turn of the card.  By the time you are done, you have completed a full body workout.  Depending on your physical readiness when starting this program, you can even break it down and build up as you gain more strength.

The day after my first workout, my muscles knew I had done something.  This minor fatigue did not deter me and you shouldn’t let it either.  In fact, I find it motivating.  I knew I completed something that was challenging and it was making the desired changes in my muscles.

This is a really fun way to exercise and I’m so glad that I got her book and have worked my way through her program.  Anyone who looks at Carrie Underwood can see that she is a strong woman.  That is what is important—feeling strong because that will improve your health and your feelings.  Don’t worry about what the scale says, just focus on how your body is improving and how much better you are feeling.  When you do that, the sky is the limit.  Enjoy the process, focus on the positives.  Before long, exercising will be something you look forward to and will be a part of your life.  Don’t get me wrong, we all need an extra push from time to time, but when you experience all the positive benefits from being active you will never want to go back.

Join me on this journey with Carrie’s FIT52 LIFE.  Get your book today https://amzn.to/3pxaRCo and start changing your life.  Comment below or tag me on social media and let me know how you are doing.  I want to be there to encourage you whenever you need it.  We all need a buddy to keep us going.  Let’s all join together to improve our lives!