WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU DO NOT EXERCISE

Exercise gives you huge benefits, especially regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle. These benefits include improved physical appearance, greater levels of energy, better mental health, better immune system, healthy heart, stronger bones, and a reduced risk of life threatening diseases. We all know this. Yet there are many of us who would rather sport love handles, a growing paunch, suffer lower energy and frequent colds and coughs. Big deal – they say- even as they reach out for another sugar laden drink, greasy food, and chocolate pastry. The logic – we all have to die one day, I‘d rather die eating what I want and all I want, while resting all I can. Well you have to be super lucky for that not to take a poor course on your health and energy eventually. When you haven‘t done enough to take care of your body, it is bound to break down. Here‘s what happens if you don‘t exercise or aren‘t adequately active, besides not taking into consideration what you put inside your body to nourish it on a daily basis.

• Exercising regularly keeps you young and strong. Without regular exercise your bones, joints and heart weaken, and you gain weight. Inevitable with age you may think. But not really. Exercising helps improve your ability to achieve daily tasks much better as you age. Otherwise, you are at risk of losing mobility sooner.
• Research shows that exercise reduces anxiety and depression. It gives you more energy, better sleep and a stronger sex drive. Your overall quality of life suffers if you do not exercise or stay active.
• People who never exercise are at greater risk of heart diseases, stroke, blood pressure, mental illness, joint problems, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes and even certain types of cancer.
• You will be less connected with your family, work and loved ones when you are less energetic and more fatigued. Just simple brisk walking for 30- 45 minutes every day can bring about a huge change in how you feel.
• From flexibility issues to heart health, muscular problems, weight issues, increased levels of stress, mood swings, loss of bone density, lowered sex drive and poor digestion, the damages are many. I could write about each one of these topics in greater detail but the important thing is to really understand the disservice you are doing to your body by not exercising regularly and eating right.
• More than half the battle is in the mind. And despite knowing it all, there are so many people who will find every reason in the world not to exercise. I am not asking you to join a gym right away or to commit to a professional training service, just start with walking, running, cycling, swimming, stretching… whatever you know and feels right, but do it on a committed basis every day. Feel the exertion, and slowly build up the intensity level. I promise you, you will wonder why you didn‘t start before. It‘s never too late to change. It‘s never too late to start. Take your health and wellbeing into your own hands. Be responsible and enjoy a better quality of life overall.

---

Sandesh Palungwa Limbu, Certified professional fitness instructor, founder of RAGE Fitness, and specialises in mixed martial arts.