Ladies and Gentlemen.....Let's Exercise!

     How often do you work out? When you work out, how long do you you usually exercise? One would think these are easily answerable questions. However, when you consider how often a person actually exercises, my guess is that you probably guess on the low-end of the spectrum.

     We've all seen articles stating, "Lack of exercise is detrimental to your health." This we know is obvious, but we never stop to think in what ways can a lack of exercise be unhealthy, or how many ways it can be unhealthy. Many consider weight gain to be the primary concern for a lack of exercise, to be followed by an increase in susceptibility to communicable diseases. While preventing these issues is important, we must also consider the other ways that exercise benefits our overall health.

     According to the US Centers for Disease Control, more than 54% of American adults don't exercise at least enough to promote wellness. I admittedly don't exercise to the fullest potential I know my body can. Would it be too much to actually take a trip to the gym before or after work?
  
     For the sake of your eyes, I won't list all the ways in which a lack of exercise affects your body, but I will give you my personal top three reasons to stay in shape, or get back into it.

     1. Increase risk of injury: According to Gabe Mirkin, M.D., aging isn't the reason for shrinking muscles, lack of exercise is purely the culprit. He said that if you fail to exercise, not only will your skeletal muscles shrink, your heart will also shrink. With your heart at a smaller size, it becomes less able to fight off infections and skeletal muscles become less protective as well as less able to heal.

     2. Increase depression rate: A study of 250 middle-aged women, conducted by the American College of Medicine indicates that there is a direct relationship between exercise and a positive attitude. One of the recommended techniques used to combat depression is an increase of physical activity. No one can deny the therapeutic properties of regular exercise.

    3. Age with grace: According to Dr. Abe Mirkin, about 50 percent of Americans die of heart attacks and strokes. 80 percent of those people are overweight or obese, which (like I said earlier) is associated with little exercise. Yet, only 13 percent of people over 65 engage in physical activity at least 3 days a week. For people at least 75 years of age, only 6 percent exercise regularly. Think about it!

     Okay, you my not be able to get to the gym everyday, but at least make some kind of effort to do something that will allow you to break a sweat. Physicians say at least one half an hour a day is all it takes to lead a healthier life. Don't sit down to that television show just yet! You have some push-ups to do first!

Let's see what Thai people think about exercise! Trust me, it's pretty funny!