Exercise: It’s just not about burning calories!!!

Just a few days ago, a friend of mine asked me an interesting question. He asked, “Why do you give so much importance to exercise? As per my cardio machine I spend only 160 kcal by walking for an hour. I would rather prefer to cut down two biscuits or a piece of chocolate from my diet which will save me from this entire headache!!” Most of us try to think of some or the other shortcut through diet and try to save on tiring activities.

But it's just not about burning calories; doing physical activity has a number of advantages on other health parameters as well.

Exercise: A wonderful medicine

• Studies have shown that every hour of walking may increase your life by two hours.
• Physical activity reduces risk of stroke by 20 percent and risk of coronary heart disease by 30-40 percent, especially in women. 
• Exercise improves the oxygen flow in the blood vessels. It directly affects the activity of your vital organs, most importantly brain. Physical activity helps to improve your mental sharpness and memory.
• Increasing physical activity improves your disease fighting capacity (immunity) and reduces the risk of developing cancer and heart disease.
• Regular physical activity reduces your blood pressure by 4 to 9 mm Hg. This means it will help you to reduce your hypertension.
• Regular exercise also helps you to relieve tension, anxiety, depression and anger. It is just not a temporary feeling but in the long run it improves your overall mental wellness.
• It also helps you to elevate your good (HDL) cholesterol.

So, all set for exercise?

Still our busy work schedule helps us to drop our desire to exercise to almost zero. Taking an hour off from our hectic job and home schedule is a real task, hence here are some tips to help you to exercise.

• It is recommended to walk briskly for at least half an hour a day for at least 3-4 times / week.
• If you can’t spend 30 mins at a stretch. Three 10-minute periods of activity are almost as beneficial to your overall fitness as one 30-minute session of exercise.
• Look out for opportunities to be more active. Take stairs instead of an elevator; take breaks from work or from watching TV.
• Make your activities fun! Engage in any form of physical activity which you enjoy the most. Go for trekking with your friends or join some health club.
• Keep variety to retain your interest. Walk on weekdays; swim or play badminton on weekends.