Why do exercise is important

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A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Healthy Lifestyle Fitness. Products and services. Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good? By Mayo Clinic Staff.

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Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references AskMayoExpert. Physical activity adult. Mayo Clinic; Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed June 25, Peterson DM. The benefits and risk of aerobic exercise. Accessed June 24, Maseroli E, et al. Physical activity and female sexual dysfunction: A lot helps, but not too much. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Allen MS. Physical activity as an adjunct treatment for erectile dysfunction. Nature Reviews: Urology. An activity where you have to work even harder is called vigorous intensity activity.

There is substantial evidence that vigorous activity can bring health benefits over and above that of moderate activity. 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. If you're working at this level, you won't be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

People are less active nowadays, partly because technology has made our lives easier. We drive cars or take public transport. Machines wash our clothes. We entertain ourselves in front of a TV or computer screen. Fewer people are doing manual work, and most of us have jobs that involve little physical effort. Work, household chores, shopping and other necessary activities are far less demanding than for previous generations.

We move around less and burn off less energy than people used to. Research suggests that many adults spend more than 7 hours a day sitting down, at work, on transport or in their leisure time. People aged over 65 spend 10 hours or more each day sitting or lying down, making them the most sedentary age group.

For those starting out, gradual progression of exercise time, frequency and intensity is recommended. You are more likely to stay on track and avoid injury if you start gently. Even if you can't reach these minimum targets you can still benefit from some activity. Resistance exercise is concerned with working the bodies muscle groups and building strength. Very light or light intensity resistance training is best for older persons or previously sedentary adults new to exercise.

It is recommended that adults should wait at least 48 hours between resistance training sessions. There are a number of different ways to classify the intensity of any exercise, some based on heart rate, some on perceived exertion and some on how the exercise affects your metabolic rate. Moderate-intensity activity should raise your heart rate, make you breathe faster and make you feel warm enough to start to sweat.

Vigorous intensity exercise will make you breathe hard, increase your heart rate significantly and make you hot enough to sweat profusely. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggests that moderate-intensity activity allows you to talk but not to sing, whereas more vigorous activity results in an inability to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Overall though, any activity that gets you moving, gets your heart rate up and gives you enough pleasure to do it regularly and often is good for you in almost every way.

Learn more about the nature of stress and how you can effectively cope with stress at work, at home and in life generally. The Skills You Need Guide to Stress and Stress Management eBook covers all you need to know to help you through those stressful times and become more resilient. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels. Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low High Density Lipoproteins HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People start to see benefits at levels of physical activity below the recommended minutes a week. Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more.

Already have type 2 diabetes? Regular physical activity can help you control your blood glucose levels. To find out more, visit Diabetes and Me. Being physically active lowers your risk for developing several commonly occurring cancers.

Research shows that adults who participate in greater amounts of physical activity have reduced risks of developing cancers of the:.

Improve your quality of life. If you are a cancer survivor, research shows that getting regular physical activity not only helps give you a better quality of life, but also improves your physical fitness. Learn more about Physical Activity and Cancer. Doing aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening physical activity at a moderately-intense level can slow the loss of bone density that comes with age.

Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people. Among older adults, physical activity also reduces the risk of falling and injuries from falls. Physical activity programs that include more than one type of physical activity are most successful at reducing falls and fall-related injuries.

Different types of physical activity include aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance physical activities. Also, weight bearing activities such as running, brisk walking, jumping jacks and strength training produce a force on the bones. These activities that can help promote bone growth and bone strength and reduce the risk of fall-related injuries and fractures.