The finer points of getting from the body you have to the body you want may be very individual. That’s where the help of an experienced professional pays off. Yet there are certain things we share – all of us are equipped with this human body – and the importance of exercising regularly is one of them. Why? Because there is very little standing still when it comes to fitness.

Regular exercise is important for many reasons. Here are six:

1. It make muscles stronger.
2. It gives people energy.
3. It helps people think better.
4. It helps people feel happier.
5. It makes bones stronger.
6. It helps shrink fat cells.

In short, if you don’t exercise regularly, it can cause problems health problems later on. For instance, your heart may not work as well and the fats in your blood may build up. What’s more, people who don’t exercise are more likely to get type 2 diabetes. All of these are a recipe for poor health and chronic illness down the road.

Choose Up or Choose Down

Occasionally, people hit plateaus in their results – and this calls for refreshing their approach or routine – but there is no such thing as stopping and staying the same, not for very long. We are either improving our strength and stamina or we are letting them decline. For this reason, even the pauses, the rest that exercise requires, have to be measured and monitored just as carefully as we might count the weights or reps we use. The reason has to do with one of the natural gifts that comes with our bodies.

You see, it is our body’s nature to renew itself. Cells do this constantly, and we don’t have to order them to do it. Their nature to renew is what we are giving focus to when we exercise. We are placing demands on processes such as muscle-building and oxygen-exchange efficiency – and our bodies are naturally responding by building up those abilities.

When we stop for a little while, our bodies catch up. The renewal process rises to meet the recent demand, and we turn out stronger. In fact, rest is an integral part of the training process. When we stop for too long, though, we lose what we have gained. Our bodies find other things to do with the nutrients we provide – like storing fat for some future demand.

Regularity of Mind

Perhaps a less tangible, but no less important, reason for regular exercise has to do with the benefits that show up in our thoughts. When we are committed to a schedule, when we show ourselves that we can meet that commitment, then confidence grows just as surely as a muscle. When we experience the follow-through of that schedule for a while, then we have a habit, and a rewarding one, too.

But that’s not all. According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, and ADHD. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood.

Among the good things about the habit of exercise is that it brings an end to debate. There’s peace of mind in knowing that this is just what we do, not something to be re-evaluated with every event of the day. The habit of exercise is so valuable that we’ll talk about how to achieve it in a future blog.

Beyond habit, exercise becomes a way of life for those who practice it regularly. It turns into something we expect from our day, our week, our life. The payoffs become part of who we are. And not just ourselves. Our partners, our friends, and even our children see the example we are setting. They can take it or leave it, but they can’t ignore it.

At Eclipse 1-on-1, our accomplished team of personal trainers is as invested in your success as you are.