Getting fit is universally recognised as a worthwhile goal. Despite the wide variety of available fitness programs, with one surely there to suit everybody, and despite the generally acknowledged benefits of fitness, you may still find it hard to motivate yourself into a fitness regime. So, to make it easier to remind yourself why you want to exercise, let’s break down exactly what it is that exercise and fitness offer you.
The basics
With regular exercise, your body adapts by becoming stronger, functioning more efficiently and developing greater endurance. At a basic level, exercise enhances transport of nutrients and oxygen into cells as well as improving waste removal.
Exercise is also an efficient way to burn fat. Muscle is built by exercise and muscle tissue is the primary user of fat kilojoules in your body. To achieve your optimal bodyweight you must exercise. Building muscle mass, in turn, keeps your body stable and holds obesity at bay. In the table in the article on running as a weight loss aid, you can see just how many kilojoules are burned by various forms of exercise.
Improvements in blood flow from exercise also reduce the incidence of many ailments associated with ageing, from varicose veins to cold hands and feet. Lung function also benefits from exercise and the maximisation of oxygen-carrying capacity that exercise brings to your blood means all organs and tissues benefit. Beyond these more obvious and basic benefits of getting yourself fit, there are others that may be less apparent but are perhaps even more profound.
1. Winding back the clock
Your youth doesn’t disappear out the back door when you pass 30 and becoming fit through exercise can reopen that door even after decades. A study has found that a six-month program of moderate exercise (including walking, jogging or using a stationary bike for one hour, four to five times per week) can turn back the clock 30 years for middle-aged men. The study began in 1966 when healthy 20-year-old men went through a battery of tests of their aerobic power. Thirty years later, the same men went through similar tests before and after a six-month exercise program. It was found that the exercise program reversed the effects of ageing and increased aerobic power by 15 per cent, back to where the men were as 20-year-olds.
Other major studies also support the notion that being fit will help you live longer. The Framingham Study has followed some 5200 residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, for more than half a century. Analysis of the data from this study found that, even after adjustment for smoking status, illnesses and other relevant factors, subjects who participated in moderate physical activity starting at age 50 lived 1.3 years longer and 1.1 year longer free of heart disease, than sedentary subjects. Those who participated in high levels of physical activity lived 3.5 years longer overall and had 3.2 years longer free of cardiovascular disease. The differences were similar for both men and women.
2. Brain benefits
Your brain is also a direct beneficiary when you make exercise part of your life. To establish the relationship between exercise and brain function as you age, some researchers conducted a review of the scientific literature on the subject. They concluded that many of the studies suggest “significant and sometimes substantial” links between physical activity and later cognitive function and dementia. In one study, for example, participating twice-weekly in physical activity in middle age was associated with a reduced risk of dementia later in life. Another study may have found the mechanism by which exercise helps the ageing brain.
According to that study, exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss. Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in response to regular exercise in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging scans to help document the process in mice and then used MRIs to look at the brains of people before and after exercise. They found the same patterns occurring, which suggests that people also grow new brain cells when they exercise.
Researchers from the University of California surveyed nearly 6000 women and found that those who exercised experienced as much as 40 per cent less decline in mental function as they aged. The amount of exercise required to achieve this was as little as playing tennis twice a week or walking a few kilometres a day.
Other research has shown that exercise can also make young people smarter. One study put healthy young people on a jogging regime of running for 30 minutes, two to three times a week, for at least 12 weeks. Each of the runners was given a complex series of computer-based tests. By the end of the 12 weeks, the test results of all participants improved, as did their reaction times. There is simply no doubt that exercise maximises your mental and physical function. The added bonus is it can also make you feel better.
3. Exercise as a mood booster
One study has shown that as little as 10 minutes of moderate exercise daily can improve mood and reduce fatigue. The study was done on female college students who answered questions about their mood before and after exercise sessions. Researchers measured their blood pressure, heart rate, height and weight. Once a week for a month, the women either pedalled a stationary bike for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes or sat quietly for 30 minutes.
The results showed a significant decline in levels of fatigue and confusion and a significant improvement in energy levels after 10 minutes of exercise. Interestingly, those who rode for longer periods did not see additional improvements in mood or overall wellbeing. The researchers concluded that exercising for 10 minutes at an aerobic level of 60 per cent maximum heart rate will increase vigour, decrease fatigue and improve mood.
Exercise can even be a treatment for depression. A group of men and women who had a definite diagnosis of serious depression were put on a program of walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes daily, for 10 days. All the participants showed an objective improvement in their symptoms. These mood-lifting effects of exercise come back to the capacity of exercise to boost levels of chemicals known as endorphins in the brain. One such chemical is known as phenyethylamine and its levels have been shown to rise by as much as 572 per cent after exercise.
4. Is it too late?
The earlier you start to exercise the better, of course, but there is also evidence that starting to exercise later in life can still yield benefits. For instance, researchers found that among adults between the ages of 39 and 63, those who said they regularly exercised were more likely to be free of physical limitations nine years later. The researchers concluded there is a strong argument for staying active throughout life to minimise muscle loss.
Other research found that adopting a regular exercise routine for the first time late in life reduced the development of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in older people. The study looked at two groups of healthy but sedentary adults between the ages of 55 and 75. One group began regular supervised exercise training and the other remained sedentary and acted as a comparison control group. Baseline fitness levels were similar between groups. After 10 years, only 11 per cent of active patients but 28 per cent of sedentary patients had “metabolic syndrome”, which is a cluster of risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and obesity that increase the likelihood of developing heart disease and diabetes.
5. Fewer aches and pains
You might think a person who exercises will have more aches and pains than a sedentary person but you would be wrong. One study found that, among adults age 50 and up, those who regularly exercised were less likely to develop painful joints and muscles over the next 14 years. Throughout the study period, active adults’ pain-rating scores were consistently 25 per cent lower than those of their peers. This was despite the fact that active men and women were more likely to have a history of bone fracture. It is possible that active adults’ lower risk of pain reflected their greater “musculoskeletal reserve”, or the effects of endorphins released by the brain during prolonged exercise.
6. Soul fitness
Adding to all of this is the soul satisfaction that comes from exercise. Some forms of exercise, such as yoga or martial arts, deliberately incorporate meditation and other spiritual practices into their workout. Yet other forms of exercise also feed your soul in less overt ways. The rhythmic focus of swimming is a meditation in itself. Communing with nature as you cycle, run or walk also replenishes your inner self. Then there is the pleasure of sharing exercise with a group of friends or the inner warmth that comes from knowing you are supporting your physical and mental self.
Fit people who exercise have higher self-esteem and live happier lives. It is a choice that is really no choice. To live the life you want to live, find a way to build even 10 minutes of exercise that suits you into your daily routine. You will be happy with the results.
