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There are a lot of choices out there that will hit your back muscles, sure—but some are better than others. Part of the reward of completing an activity is how much better you’ll feel afterwards, but it always helps your motivation to promise yourself an extra treat for exercising. Reward yourself with a hot bubble bath after a workout, a delicious smoothie, or with an extra episode of your favorite TV show, for example. If you have a disability, severe weight problem, arthritis, or any injury or illness that limits your mobility, talk to your doctor about ways to safely exercise. You shouldn’t ignore pain, but rather do what you can, when you can. Divide your exercise into shorter, more frequent chunks of time if that helps, or try exercising in water to reduce joint or muscle discomfort.
Even if you’re not suffering from a mental health problem, regular physical activity can still offer a welcome boost to your mood, outlook, and mental well-being. Nature has a remarkable ability to nurture our minds and bodies. Spending time outdoors and connecting with nature can improve cognitive function, reduce stress, and boost overall mental health.
Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to go to sleep. Exercise sends oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores. Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help you keep off lost weight.
You will be much less likely to cancel exercise if you know someone is counting on you to be there. And when you reach your exercise goals, you’ll have someone to celebrate with. You should try to exercise even if you have a physical disability that limits movement.
Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%. Both eating patterns and physical activity routines play critical roles in weight management. You can gain weight when you consume more calories than the amount of calories you burn. No kidding — what’s good for the body is often good for the mind. Knowing what you can do physically that has this effect for you will change your day and your life. Everyone has their own way to “recharge” their sense of well-being — something that makes them feel good physically, emotionally, and spiritually even if they aren’t consciously aware of it.
Stop exercising if you feel unusually out of breath, dizzy, faint, nauseous, or if you feel pain. Talk with your family doctor if you have questions or think you have injured yourself seriously. You can tell when it’s vigorous activity because you’re breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit.
With this in mind, the 36-year-old is now more honest than ever when it comes to how she feels about her body. Lizzo’s not looking to unveil a drastic body transformation anytime soon. He was previously a reporter for DailyRx.com where he covered stories related to cardiology, diabetes, lung cancer, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, menopause, and allergies. He has interviewed doctors and pharmaceutical representatives in the U.S. and abroad. Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy.
Exercise can help boost your energy levels while helping to reduce fatigue. This may help as a treatment method if you have certain health conditions, such as cancer. Impact exercises like gymnastics, running, or soccer may help promote higher bone density than no-impact sports like swimming and cycling. Squats increase lower body and core strength, as well as flexibility in your lower back and hips. Because they engage some of the largest muscles in the body, they also pack a major punch in terms of calories burned. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don’t exercise.
Your doctor can help you find other exercises to improve your overall health. This is especially important if your doctor is already monitoring you for a health problem, such as heart disease or osteoarthritis. The plank is a classic bodyweight exercise that challenges many areas of your core, such as the transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis (“six-pack”), and oblique (side abdominal) muscles. If you find doing it from your toes too challenging, you can modify the difficulty of this exercise by doing it from your knees. We move around less and burn off less energy than people used to.