More reasons to EXERCISE

You've heard it over & over again that you should exercise, but sometimes you get lost in your daily schedule to make it important.

BEEN THERE.

I am not obsessive about exercising, but I do try to make it important. If I don't have time to go to the gym, I simply do a 20 minute Comcast On-Demand video (under exercise section on demand), or make my own little routine up (jumping jacks, sit ups, lunges, bicep curls, arm raises/shoulder presses/push ups). All you need is a little bit of space and 2 dumbells (i have a set of 8#ers).

Maybe being reminded of the benefits of exercise might motivate you? Exercise:

1. Creates New Brain Cells.

    Ya know, your brain is a muscle too. Exercise increases blood flow to the

    brain & stimulates the growth of new brain cells.

Aerobics is still cool: pull out the ol' 80's gear: aerobic activity(run, jog, walk at fast pace, bicycling, stairmaster, elliptical) increases the supply of a  protein called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factors) which protects
brain neurons and promotes growth of new nerve cells related to MEMORY
and learning. In rats and mice, aerobic exercise improves spatial memory. The
same is true for people- spatial memory is important in finding your way or
knowing what goes where. Having difficulty remembering why you walked into a room, or where your keys are--Are you exercising enough??

2. Prevents Visceral Fat Gain    Remember this post?
    In '05 Slentz and his collegues reported that sedentary overweight men and women who followed an
    exercise program equal to 30 min. walks 6X/week for 8 months stopped gaining visceral fat. If they
    increased their workouts they lost the fat.
    Keep exercising to avoid gaining MORE visceral fat AND to maybe even lose it!

3. Boost Insulin Sensitivity
    Insulin is a hormone that allows blood sugar (from food) to enter the cells to be used as energy or stored.
    If you become 'insensitive' or resistant to insulin, blood sugars can increase, leading to heart
    disease and diabetes. When you exercise, your body becomes more sensitive to insulin, basically meaning
    it uses it better! Both aerobic and stregnth training increase the number of GLUT4 proteins-which move
    glucose into cells. The more GLUT4's you have, the better your cells respond to insulin.

4. Puts a smile on depression
    Those who are active are actually 15-25% less likely to be
  dianosed with depression, and people with depression-constant
  exercise improves symptoms! You can thank your serotonin!

Last but not least. You should exercise....

5. Because sitting can 'KILL' you!?
    Uh-huh. How many people just stood up after reading that sentence?
    According to an epidemiologist at the Pennington Biomed Center in LA, people who sit a lot for most of
    their days have higher mortality rates EVEN if they are physically active during another part of their day.
    EHHHHHH
    In a study of 17, 000 Canadians after 12 years:

•     20% of 'all day' sitters died
•     12% of '1/2 day' sitters died
•      6% of 'almost never' sitters died

   Just standing, versus sitting, activates the muscles, improves blood flow and may change your metabolism.

Are you stuck in a cubicle all day?? Get up every half an hour and   stretch, you can even squeeze in some chair arm lifts, squats, and jumping jacks!! And don't give up on working out after or before work!

Bottom Line: Exercise is good for you in a lot of ways. Just Do It (thanks Nike) and stop procrastinating. You will have better memory & exercise your brain, decrease your chances of heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and you will also be hot doing it :)


Data/some info from Nutrition Action Newsletter, Dec.2009