It seems that people everywhere are trying to get that perfectly sculpted gym body. People on Instagram, television personalities, even people on the streets are looking like they live in the gym. Besides having a trim waist, toned lower body, or rock hard abs, hitting the gym can have many positive health benefits, both short and long term. Here are a few reasons you need to get up and get your body in the gym.
Weight loss
If your goal is to lose weight, one of the quickest and most efficient ways to accomplish this is to get active and get into the gym. Exercising will allow you to burn more calories than you generally would while doing other activities. Even better yet, exercising can speed up metabolism and increase lean muscle, which means you will burn more calories throughout the day, which in turn, will help you slim down more.
Appearance
Along with decreasing health risks and helping to make you more alert mentally, exercise is the key to having that sexy body that you’ve been longing for. While cardio and aerobic training will help shed the pounds, weight and resistance training will help you build muscle in all the right places, accentuating all the areas you want to flex. For women, squats, lunges and abdominal training are very popular. Men prefer to focus on strength training for the chest, abs, back and arms.
Health benefits
The benefits of exercising for your health are numerous. Regular exercise is linked to a number health benefits, including prevention, or even reversing of problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, anxiety and depression. It also helps to improve memory and focus, as more oxygen flows to your brain. Some more immediate benefits of working out are its ability to relieve stress. A morning workout is a great way to clear your mind before the daily hustle starts, and an effective means to take out the aggression you’ve built up over the course of the day. There’s nothing like some headphones and a banging playlist to get your body right and tight, while letting go of the day’s stressors.
Increased libido
Studies show that a little bit of physical activity in the gym can have a positive effect on physical activity in the bedroom. Getting in the gym can help improve body image and self-esteem, causing you to feel a heightened sex drive. Beyond that, regular exercise will increase strength, flexibility and endurance, contributing to an overall improved sex life.
It causes the body to release endorphins
Apparently, runner’ss high isn’t just for runners anymore. Vigorous workouts of any kind can cause the body to experience feelings of euphoria and happiness immediately following the exercise. According to nbcnews.com, “Some people liken a runner’s high to that from cocaine or other street drugs …” If you need more reasons to get you off the couch and into the gym, immediately following a workout, you may find that your pain tolerance is a bit higher than normal, and your mood is noticeably lighter.
It’s fun
Getting in the gym or even engaging in physical activity outdoors or at home can be a lot of fun once you get started. Some fun individual activities you can do in the gym include jumping rope, and boxing. If you really want to challenge yourself and try something different, try walking or running on the treadmill backward and on an incline. This will definitely take a bit of balance and coordination, but once you pull it off, it’s tons of fun!
Group activities are another way to get some enjoyment from your workout. Team sports, fitness classes, or even taking a friend to the gym can make all the difference in the effectiveness of your workout. Team sports such as basketball and soccer are great for cardio, and if you thrive on competition, this a great way to reach your health goals and show off at the same time. Fitness classes, are a cure-all if you’re lacking motivation. Popular classes include dance aerobics such as Zumba, strength and relaxation, such as yoga and Pilates, and cardio classes, including spinning and cardio interval step sessions.
