6 Reasons Why You Should Exercise

If you’ve been struggling with motivation and reasons to get up and hit the gym or get active, you’re not alone. There are days when I just want to throw my phone against the wall (a melodramatic approach to a 530am alarm going off) and curl up under my sheets in the safety of my dark room. But about 100% of the time that I skip the gym, I regret it. And every single time I’ve pushed myself to actually go to the gym, 100% of the time, I’ve always been glad I did. If what you need is a gentle kick in the bum, then below are 6 reasons that will hopefully do just that.

1. Exercise improves mood.

When you exercise, your body produces endorphins. Endorphins reduce the perception of pain and set off a positive feeling in your body (makes you feel good), kind of like morphine. The perfect answer to a bad day at work, a stressful time in traffic, or even a break up (which I can personally vouch for haha) is a good sweaty session either at the gym or out for a run.

2.  Exercise gives you an energy boost.

Blood carries oxygen to our brain and different parts of our body (which is why when you sleep late and have low blood pressure, you yawn due to the lack of oxygen in your brain). When you exercise, your blood circulates through your body smoothly, bringing oxygen to the parts that need it–getting your heart and your lungs to work more efficiently, which in turn gives you more energy. (Personally, I like to start my day with a good cardio workout because it puts a spring in my step)

3.  Exercise helps control weight.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out. A sedentary lifestyle is a recipe for health disasters. But when you stay active and exercise regularly, your body’s metabolism gets a good nudge thereby helping you burn calories more efficiently. The starchy food we eat turns into sugar, and when we don’t move around and burn excess calories, that sugar turns into fat. Fat can never truly magically melt away through pills or gadgets. There is nothing like exercise to blast fat and keep it off. It doesn’t have to be an entire hour out of your busy day. You can start with setting aside 7 minutes of exercise every morning when you wake up. You can do a few exercises that will help get your heart rate up and jumpstart your body’s calorie-burning ability. There are some fun workout apps available that you can check out like 7 Minute Workout or 8Fit. I’ve tried both during seasons where I’m too busy to hit the gym or when I’m traveling and have no access to a full gym but need to stay active. The 8Fit app also has a meal planning feature you can sign up for.

4. Exercise can help give your sex life a boost.

Regular exercise can lead to better or more enhanced arousal for women, while men who work out regularly may lower their chances of erectile dysfunction. Besides, a physically fit body is a great turn-on because it shows that you take good care of yourself. Strength, endurance, and confidence are definitely pluses in this department.

5. Exercise can help you sleep better.

Sleep is vital to muscle recovery. Establishing a regular exercise routine is good for your circadian rhythm because it helps you sleep better and deeper. I used to be such a night owl and had to get up at the crack of dawn the next day for work. I felt sluggish and less productive. When I finally established a regular workout routine and schedule, my body eventually adjusted and my bed time effortlessly came at 9pm. These days, I very rarely sleep past 10pm because between 10pm to 2am is the deepest and most regenerative sleep that your body can have. That’s when your body detoxifies, repairs, and restores itself.

6. Exercise is a fun way to a healthier you.

Pick a workout buddy to help you get started on a good exercise regimen. You can go running together whether on a treadmill at the gym, or on a trail outdoors. There are so many options for workout buddies/groups who want to have fun while getting fit and strong: dance classes, running clubs, martial arts, hiking, aerobics, or spinning classes. Whether you choose to exercise indoors or take it outside, exercise is definitely more fun when you have someone to do it with.

What are you waiting for? Make the decision today to start working on a healthier you! Feel stronger, feel more confident, feel healthier, and feel better.

If you have any questions or would like help with a starter exercise program, feel free to comment below and provide your email so I can help craft one for you.

Life in Seasons

Winter can be dreadful and depressing. Trees naked from leaves that have fallen and long forgotten the meaning of attachment. Snow covers every square inch of the ground and  deceives you with such a pristine beauty that brings a deathly cold. But the trees aren’t dead. The snow blankets the soil in months of cold and wet–perhaps to help it drink in as much nutrient-rich water before Spring unleashes a flurry of life and colors after the next few months.

Spring is colourful, vibrant, and brings a fresh vivacity with each new sunrise. You feel inspired and awed at the same time and an urge to start something new wells up inside you–an excitement for a brand new adventure. The long wait in the grey cold of Winter is over. Now you can prance in the sunshine while you harvest the fruits of your months-long toiling prior.

Summer brings a different pace to each person. Some enjoy it as a school-free season, while the working masses keep on hitting their 9-5 daily grind. Nonetheless, Summer brings an ease to the atmosphere. You feel no need to come up with an excuse to stop and sit on a bench and enjoy a lick or two of an ice cream cone. You feel young again. Parties here and there, beach trips, nights out. It’s the best time to meet new people or maybe even reinvent yourself.

Fall sweeps in romantically. As you sink into the weariness of non-stop Summer fun, Fall understands your need for a little bit of quiet. The bright colors of Spring and the festive carnival canvases of Summer are slowly and ever-so-subtly replaced by more yellows, ambers, and deep hues of oranges. Some specks of gold and bronze here and there. Work doesn’t stop. Life goes on. And soon, Winter comes once again to cover the grass in white.

Life also works this way. It has its seasons. There are times when you’re inundated with projects–work offers that you had been hoping to get seem to be dropping on your lap. Life is good and you couldn’t ask for more. But then there are also lean times, times of lack and drought. When you feel you’ve lost your stride and you are neither yielding optimal results nor feeling fulfilled. You realise you’ve come into the Winter of your life.

It’s important to have an awareness about the kind of season you find yourself in. It will help you to understand how best to live out and live through it. I’ve hit rock bottom several times in my life and each time I did, it felt like an eternity. I was in between jobs except the next job took forever to come along. Or rather, the offers I was getting wasn’t what I was hoping for, while the ones I campaigned diligently for didn’t seem to come my way. But it didn’t stay like that forever. Things changed, opportunities came, changes came and went. Nothing is constant in life except change and the sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner we can have peace and a sense of joy about living.

Sometimes the seasons are more visible in our personal lives and relationships. A blossoming romance can make every day feel like Spring and Summer. But a thwarted love affair can make even the sunniest days seem as dreary as the darkest Winter. Although, Winter can also bring as much promise as the sheets of white snow bring beauty and calm. Times of quiet and lack sometimes can bring things into perspective for us. We learn to appreciate relationships and opportunities better when we’ve lost them. Hopefully when Spring comes around again, we’ll have wisdom, we’ll know better.

Perhaps this is the reason why the adage “Carpe diem” brings so much truth to it–because each day is fleeting; tomorrow is never promised to anyone. Even the most painful moments in our lives bring healing over time and if we’re fortunate and if we let it, it can make us stronger.