“To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise.” – Gene Tunney
To exercise is the biggest favor we can do to our body, or so they say. Even the government is stressing on being fit and getting ample exercise in your routine. Why? Is it as good as everybody claims it to be? Is it a necessity? We shall come to those questions later on by discussing the negatives and positives of exercising.
Exercise refers to a particular act requiring physical labor. It is usually carried out with an aim to make our bodies fit. It raises your pulse rate, makes you sweat, and stretches your muscles to a great extent.
Positive Effects of Exercise
• Physical Health
Like air is to life, exercise is to a fit and healthy body. Our body is essentially made up of energy. It has a lot of muscles that are made to move. When we exercise, we burn our calories which keep our metabolism fit and our body healthy. Moving our muscles is very important to maintain our physique and to keep our bodies from rusting away. Right from maintain blood circulation to keeping arthritis and diabetes at bay, exercise has a multitude of positive effects on the health of a human being. It is a proven fact that those who exercise live longer than those who don’t.
• Mental Health
When we exercise, our blood circulation is maintained at the best rate possible. Also, our bones get stronger while our energy gets a boost on exercising. This leads to an improved mental health. You’ll stay happy at most times of the day, you’ll sleep much better and undisturbed and would live longer if you exercise daily.
• Appearance
Exercise is the best way to get a toned, shaped body. When you exercise and follow a balanced diet simultaneously, you tend to lose the extra weight on your body and stay fit. The extra conditioned blood flow is also visible through your radiant skin when you exercise. Therefore, people who exercise will always come across as much more charming and attractive than those who do not.
• Personality
Exercise helps in improving our overall personality in a number of ways and leads to individual as well as social development. It sets in a development of social ethics and values in a human. When an individual walks out of his house to exercise, he meets a number of people. This increases his chances of making new friends and acquiring acquaintances – hence leading to a better social life. This inculcates a sense of social –poise, self-discipline and good citizenship. Exercise and sports also lead to a spirit of sportsmanship, fairness, and group relationship.
Negative effects of Exercise
• Injuries
When done wrong, exercises can cause serious injuries. The most common forms are muscle pulls and fractures. Dislocation, strains, sprains etc are a possibility when exercises are done without professional surveillance. Improper use of exercise equipment can also lead to aforementioned issues. If new to exercising, you must definitely reach out to some professional for guidance.
• Pushing beyond limits
If not under professional guidance, you may push yourself to hard while exercising. This may lead to the above injuries or cause your muscles to get overworked. This may make your immune system weak and may make you sick in the long term. If this sounds like you, you may be going through the overtraining syndrome. Here, the athlete tries to push itself harder than their body could bear. It eventually results in fatigue, depression, unhealthy sleep cycles, mood swings, lack of appetite and extreme thirst.
• Addiction
Addiction to anything is bad – no matter how healthy the habit is. Exercising can cause an addiction that can stem from a number of things – competitiveness, body image issues, self centeredness – to name a few. This can make one neglect family, social life, work and other important aspects of life. Being addicted to exercise often leads to side effects such as fatigue, poor eating habits, over exhaustion, over competitiveness, aggression and violence, and also loss of identity.
It is pretty clear that exercise has its own merits and demerits. Yet, it is something that we should imbibe in our daily life in a limited dose.
So if you’re all set to get exercising, here’s a nice quote for you, by none other than Lee Haney, the great American Bodybuilder,
“Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn’t formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.”