Many people go to the gym to lose weight, build muscle and shape their bodies. But beyond achieving these goals, working out also offers numerous benefits for maintaining good physical and mental health.
If you're still looking for a reason and motivation to start going to the gym, or you've already started but are curious about what else you can expect, read on to discover some things you may not have considered.
What are the benefits of regular workouts beyond a toned body?
Strengthen muscles and bones
Workouts play a key role in building and maintaining strong muscles and healthy bones.
Exercises such as weightlifting, combined with adequate protein intake, stimulate muscle growth. This is thanks to the hormones released during exercise. They help muscles absorb amino acids, which in turn promotes muscle growth.
As people age, they often lose muscle mass, which can lead to injuries or lasting damage. If you don't lift weights regularly, you'll lose about 1% of your muscle strength each year. Although this process happens even when regular exercise, they help reduce this percentage by half.
Regular exercise is very important for maintaining muscle function and strength, especially in older adults. It also helps build bone density in younger people and prevents osteoporosis later in life.
Support the immune system
Your immune system protects you from infections and chemical toxins. It also plays an important role in coping with stress. For years, various studies have concluded that as we age, our immune system inevitably ages too. However, these studies were based on research involving people who did not exercise, and even short-term exercise programs have been proven to help maintain a healthy immune system.
Improve your mood
It is a well-known fact that people who exercise rarely suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress. The reason: exercise increases endorphin production —the happiness hormone. An even more interesting fact, however, is that exercise intensity does not matter when it comes to improving mood. A study of 24 women with depression showed that adding even a small number of light exercises significantly improved their condition.
Another study of 26 healthy men and women who exercised regularly examined the opposite effect— how stopping exercise affects the body. Participants were divided into two groups: one was asked to stop exercising for 2 weeks, while the other continued with their routine. In the end, the first group showed a significant decline in mood.
Help with weight loss
A sedentary lifestyle is a major factor in obesity and weight gain, and exercise undoubtedly has a positive impact. But what exactly is the process of losing weight?
The body uses energy in three ways: digesting food, exercising, and maintaining basic bodily functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and even blinking. On a biological level, the human body gets rid of excess fat by releasing carbon dioxide. Anatomically, this happens mainly through exhaling.
Physical exercise increases breathing rate, naturally causing the body to release more carbon dioxide. Exercise also improves metabolism, which means more calories are burned—helping you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
A combination of aerobic and functional exercises is most effective for losing fat and maintaining muscle mass.
Boost energy levels
For both healthy people and those suffering from various conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, exercise has a very positive effect on boosting energy. The results of a study involving 36 people who said they were constantly tired confirm this. After 6 weeks of regular exercise, their feelings of fatigue decreased significantly.
Reduce the Risk of Chronic Diseases
Lack of regular exercise is considered a primary cause of chronic diseases. Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health, while also lowering blood pressure and blood fat levels. Without more active movement, even in the short term, body fat can increase significantly, raising the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Protect the Skin
The skin can be affected by oxidative stress in the body. This is a buildup of free radicals that can damage various cells. To address this problem, moderate-intensity exerciseis recommended. It increases the body's production of natural antioxidants, which protect cells, and stimulates blood flow, slowing the appearance of signs of skin aging—wrinkles, spots, and more.
In addition, regular exercise firms the skin, making it clearer and more radiant by helping flush out toxins through sweating. This process is enhanced when you combine your workout with a visit to a sauna or steam room. At Pulse Fitness & SPA, we've thought of that, too.
Better Memory, Greater Motivation and Concentration
Regular physical activity also improves brain function, protecting memory and thinking skills. This happens as your heart rate increases during exercise, improving the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
Exercise also stimulates the production of hormones that can promote the growth of brain cells. Regular exercise is thought to increase the size of the hippocampus —an anatomical region of the brain responsible for long-term memory.
Exercise has also been proven to benefit work performance. Improved blood flow to the brain improves concentration and focus on specific tasks. Achieving fitness goals also improves and strengthens motivation.
Boost Intelligence
In addition to memory, intellectual abilities also benefit from regular physical activity. During exercise, increased oxygen flow to the brain affects not only the hippocampus but also the part of the brain associated with planning and decision-making (the prefrontal cortex).
Improve Relaxation and Sleep Quality
Regular exercise is sure to improve your sleep quality. Using up energy reserves during exercise stimulates the body's recovery processes during sleep. In addition, the rise in body temperature during exercise and its subsequent return to normal are thought to help improve sleep.
Many studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions. One found that a total of 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise per week can improve sleep quality by up to 65%. Another study reached the same conclusion, using a control group of 17 people with insomnia. After 16 weeks of regular exercise, both the quality and duration of their sleep improved.
To achieve this effect, the type of workout doesn’t matter. The same effectiveness is seen with both aerobic exercise and a combination of aerobic and functional exercises.
Reduce pain
Chronic pain can be debilitating, but exercise usually helps reduce it. For years, rest and immobilization were recommended for treating chronic pain. Recent studies, however, show that exercise benefits conditions such as chronic lower back pain, fibromyalgia, shoulder pain and more.
Improve your sex life
Regular exercise strengthens the cardiovascular system, improves blood circulation, tones muscles and increases flexibility — all factors that have a positive effect on your sex life.
Regularly working your muscles keeps them active, prompting the endocrine glands to release more hormones. Greater muscle mass also stimulates the production of androgens, which help maintain sexual function in both men and women.
Asked about the effect of exercise on their sex lives, a group of women around 40 years old shared that they reach orgasm more often when they include more intense exercises such as sprinting or strength training in their routine.
Men who exercise for more hours each week also report improved sexual function.
Whether you take up a particular sport or follow the guideline of 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, one thing is certain: you’ll improve your physical and mental health in many ways. This is an important part of the care everyone should take of their own health.
To make it a truly enjoyable experience, rather than just an obligation, the largest and most successful fitness club chain in the country, Pulse Fitness & SPA transformed the face of sport and exercise in the country, creating the first lifestyle fitness clubs. At our clubs, professional trainers will support you in achieving your goals, you’ll meet like-minded people in group classes and discover for yourself that a healthy lifestyle is the only meaningful way to combat the stress of the big city.