Do I really need to workout.  In my personal training days and even now, I come across so many people who don’t exercise on a regular basis. There are a million and one excuses for why they don’t, whether it be time or lack of interest. The strangest excuses are along the lines of “I’m not looking to lose weight”, or “I feel fine”, or “I need to change my diet first”. Often, these excuses come from individuals who perhaps need to workout the most. There is so much more to regular workouts than just toned bodies and weight loss.

DO I REALLY NEED TO WORKOUT

Weight control. Now I’m not talking about losing weight (because you’ll need a healthy diet in conjunction to working out), I’m just referring to the fact that if you are looking to prevent weight gain as you age then getting off your butt is probably a good idea. As long as you aren’t over indulging in too much food, staying active will go a long way. You don’t need to set aside hours and hours, but you do need to make smart choices like taking the stairs or parking your car further away from work. I’m of the belief that everyone, at one point or another, should have a pedometer (or fitness tracker) so that they can really see how much they are moving. More often than not you are moving much less than you think.

Makes you happier. I like to equate exercise to taking a happy pill. There are many times when I have dragged myself to the gym or to a class. I’ve been grumpy and sullen, but I’ve never ever left that way. I’ve always finished a workout with a bounce in my step and a feeling that I could take over the world. In reality, exercise releases endorphins and they help lift your mood. Another facet to this is that exercising makes you feel better about yourself and that in turn helps increase your self esteem.

Improves energy. I don’t think there’s a better stress release than a good workout. When you are moving (even just taking a walk in the park), you are forced to think in a different way, you start to notice your surroundings and suddenly all those problems seem further away. I like running first thing in the morning because I often think up blog posts at this time and plan out my business. Take a look at what most successful entrepreneurs have in common…. Hint, they all fit in a regular workout. Adding a bit of science to all of this, when you workout you strengthen your muscles and therefore increase your endurance. Not only that, but when your body gets more oxygen and nutrients through physical activity, your heart and lungs get stronger.  It’s possible to not be out of breath when you run up a flight of stairs.

Improves health. Whether we like it or not there really is an epidemic with regards to people’s health. More and more people are getting diabetes and heart disease and of course, exercise won’t solve everything, but it will go a long way to reversing the effects and saving people’s lives. Being active will: lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and unhealthy triglycerides while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol, it will lower blood pressure, help manage type 2 diabetes, depression and a number of other diseases and physical conditions.

Fights illness. When you are physically active your body produces more antibodies (aka immunoglobulin) which means that you are being temporarily protected from infections like the flu or even colds.

Helps you sleep. As long as you aren’t working out right before bed (this can have the opposite effect of what you want), being active can help you sleep longer and deeper.

Remember that you don’t have to join a gym and do the same workout that everyone else is doing. Pick a sport that you enjoy and do that. I love dance and after not having taken a ballet class for close to 14 years, I started up again precisely because I started worrying about my health. I knew it was something I could stick with so I got out of my head, took a deep breath and went. I instantly felt 100x better and my health improved drastically within a few short months.  If most of us got enough movement over the course of each day then it wouldn’t be necessary to schedule in a workout, but for those of us with more sedentary jobs it is a must!

Do you exercise regularly?

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