If you asked any random person on the street about their health goals, you’d more than likely encounter a ton of people whose goal was to spend more time at the gym. Despite those good intentions, at least 15 percent of the population in each US state reported living a life devoid of physical activity.
If you’re one of those people, you might be looking for some motivation that’ll help you develop the habit of going to the gym on a regular basis. You’re in luck! Read on to learn about some of the best reasons to engage in regular exercise.
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Workout Without Distractions
Many people have a hard time meeting their fitness goals because of the demands of their everyday lives. Trying to create a regular jogging routine when you have kids and work demands in your face all of the time is not so easy. That’s why shelling out for a gym membership is actually a great investment in your health.
Unlike working out at home, going to the gym to work out allows you to shut out all of the demands of your life and just focus on completing your workout. This means it’ll take you less time to complete your routine, and it’ll be much more effective, too!
Meet Your Fitness Goals
Different people have different fitness goals. If you want to ensure that you’re taking a holistic approach to your fitness, then it’s important to incorporate the elements of cardio and strength training. Unfortunately, that typically requires an investment in a lot of expensive gym equipment if you want to meet those goals at home.
Instead of purchasing and maintaining a lot of equipment, invest in a gym membership at a place like Trainftf.com. Gyms have access to high-quality equipment that is typically prohibitively expensive. Move from machine to machine as you target different parts of your body.
Sounds like a dream, to us.
Boost Your Heart Health
Many people hit the gym for aesthetic reasons, but there are plenty of reasons to go to the gym that don’t involve how it makes you look. Perhaps the most important of all is the fact hitting the gym is a great way to improve your heart health.
Your heart is a muscle, and like all muscles, it can become weaker or stronger depending on your lifestyle. Going to the gym and engaging in cardio exercise helps your heart become stronger, therefore allowing it to pump blood without straining.
The cardiovascular benefits don’t stop there! Regular workouts lower your blood pressure, decrease your LDL cholesterol (the term for bad cholesterol, and increase your HDL cholesterol (the term for healthy cholesterol). Combine these benefits with a heart-healthy diet, and you’ll be in great shape!
Improve Your Mental Health
When you think of the health improvements you can get from going to the gym, you probably think of the physical benefits. You might be surprised to learn that regular exercise can also go a long way toward improving your mental health, too.
Scientists have concluded that exercise improves your mood overall, and it can reduce depression, stress, and anxiety. Exercise produces endorphins that make you feel happier. It also makes your brain more sensitive to feel-good hormones like serotonin and norepinephrine.
Something as simple as a 15-minute walk on your lunch break can provide an immediate reduction in stress and an improvement in your mood. Imagine going to the gym before work and how that would impact your outlook and productivity!
Reduce Your Diabetes Risk
As we get older, our risk of developing type 2 diabetes also increases. That risk is enhanced by things like a family history of diabetes, poor nutrition, and a sedentary lifestyle. If you’re concerned about becoming diabetic, or if you are already diabetic, one of the best things you can do is to engage in regular exercise.
When you exercise, your body becomes more sensitive to insulin, which lowers your overall blood glucose and helps your body use carbohydrates for energy. The benefits of physical activity have an immediate impact on your blood glucose, and that benefit sticks around for up to 24 hours. The more time you spend getting active, the lower your blood glucose levels!
Sleep Better at Night
Have you ever laid in bed at night and wondered why it is that you can’t fall asleep? It might be because you aren’t spending enough time getting active during the day.
Exercise depletes your energy stores, and this triggers your body to hit the hay so your body can engage in restorative sleep processes. In addition, when you exercise, your body temperature increases. Scientists believe that this increase during physical activity helps you get better sleep by improving your body’s ability to drop its internal temperature during sleep.
Strengthen Your Muscles and Bones
You know that one of the main goals of exercise is to help increase your muscle strength, but did you know it also helps strengthen and protect your bones, too? Engaging in physical activity when you are young is linked to increased bone density, reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis later down the line.
Strong muscles and bones aren’t just a great way to look good and stay healthy. They also help reduce the likelihood that you’ll fall and sustain a serious injury as you get older.
What’s Keeping You from Going to the Gym?
Americans today live incredibly busy lives, and it is often difficult to make time for going to the gym. No matter how busy your life is, though, it’s critical that you make time in your day to engage in physical activity. Start small, and you’ll be well on your way to reaping the benefits of exercise!
Do you want to learn more awesome ways to keep your health in good shape? We can help you out with that. Spend some time going through the rest of our blog for the latest health news and much, much more!
