Exercise is just as important for humans as food and drink, because without exercise the body is not viable in the long run. This has not changed in the last 2 million years: Because of its organ structure, the body needs exercise.
Exercise - good for your health
Lack of exercise is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease. At the same time, movement is necessary for the musculature to function optimally and without disturbance. The need to move can also be reduced to simple proverbial formulas: Rain brings blessings - if you rest, you rust. Or to put it positively: If you don't rest, you don't rust either! This may sound trite, but if your health and your body are important to you, then make sure you stay physically active and "in motion". Give up too much comfort. You will be richly rewarded.
Movement - good for your psyche
Besides all the positive effects of sporting activity on health, the psychological aspect should not go unmentioned. An individually and appropriately designed training programme can increase the performance and resilience of the individual. The body becomes firmer and more attractive, which automatically promotes physical and social well-being. The psychological resilience increases, but the psychological stress itself decreases. Through an increased serotonin release, sport can even act as an antidepressant.
There are many good reasons for physical training
The reasons why everyone should become or remain physically active fill a long list:
Sport makes you healthy
- strengthening of the immune system, muscles, tendons and connective tissue
- Reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer, stroke, hypertension and cardiovascular disease
- Prevention of bone loss
- Improvement of the blood circulation in all organs
- Stimulation of the fat metabolism and reduction of cholesterol levels
- Improvement in anxiety and depression
Sport makes sexy
- Weight reduction
- Maintenance and improvement of libido and sexuality
- Stimulation of hormone production
- Strengthening of self-confidence
Sport makes you successful
- Improvement of the short-term memory performance
- Improved blood flow to the brain
- Increase of the maximum oxygen uptake
- Better coping with stress situations
- Improving general performance, for example at work
- Securing an independent lifestyle into old age
And it's easier than you might think.
The path to a healthy lifestyle does not always lead through an extensive training plan. Often it is only small changes in habits and light training sessions that make a significant difference.
Can strength training contribute to prolonging life?
Every person should have the goal of staying healthy and fit in old age. After all, what good is it if life is simply given more days? It is much more important to give the days more life. So it all depends on the quality of life. In addition to health, mental attitude, nutrition and physical activity play a major role in a good life in old age.
As far as physical fitness is concerned, there is a constant debate whether the more positive effects can be achieved with endurance or strength training. Physicians, especially sports physicians and cardiologists, still favour moderate endurance training. However, current studies show that men who regularly perform strengthening exercises for their bodies benefit immensely from this in terms of health. For example, more can be achieved with 3x3x3 training (three three-minute exercises three days a week) than with endurance sports.
The basic rule is: no matter at what age you start strengthening your muscles, there is always a positive effect! This is shown by a meta-analysis of the entire world literature, in which men between the ages of 61 and 87 years have been analysed. So it is never too late to start with (strength) training!
According to the latest study results, it seems to make sense to perform the respective exercises as dynamically as possible. A good orientation is the speed with which you get up from a chair in everyday life: not too slow, not too fast, rather "briskly".
The study showed that men who had good muscular strength and were able to convert this into speed, generally had a higher life expectancy.
Alternatives to weight-lifting in the gym
There are many different possibilities for strength training. If you don't feel like doing a special muscular training program in a gym, where a lot of work is usually done with weights, rowing or swimming, for example, can also do a lot of good for your muscles. Another advantage of these two sports is that almost the entire body and therefore almost all muscle groups are trained and strengthened. If you then also use different styles when swimming, you can even increase the range of positive effects.
Strength training in everyday life
A new Swedish study has shown that many men still believe that they need to go to the gym to get more vital - but that's not true! Strength training begins in everyday life and here already with little things: If you take two or three steps at a time when climbing stairs, you train your muscles in a similar way as you would in the gym with a leg press.
Apart from a full-body programme, as offered by the 3x3x3 training, exercises for the pelvic floor muscles, in which, among other things, the potency muscles are integrated, are also very important. A term that is used more and more often in this context is core training or core stability training. "Core" is the English term for "core" and "middle"; the aim of the corresponding training is to improve both body stability and coordination. Because: a strong core is crucial for overall health and thus also for the quality of life!
The special thing about core training is that no special aids are required. Even simple knee bends, push-ups or various yoga exercises can achieve many positive effects. Apart from that, "aids" can be found at every turn in everyday life: a chair, a door frame, stairs.
Active against diabetes diseases
In summary, looking at all the studies, it can be said that all types of physical activity help to improve health and increase fitness in old age. Those who also do special pelvic floor exercises can also do something for their sexuality (or prevent possible problems with urination).
In addition, muscular training usually increases the muscle substance. This in turn stimulates the metabolism. Important: Metabolism is by no means just digestion, but all processes in the body that ultimately serve to build up and break down body substances and to generate energy.
In addition, strength training and the resulting effects appear to reduce the risk of diabetes.
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