Decoding the Science Behind Exercise

How Science Supports a Strong, Vibrant You

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OK…So, people who managed to land on this page must be wondering “What new would this page offer me. I already know exercise is good for my health and my body. I know that I should exercise often. I know it’s a necessity these days” considering the wave of digital leisure which has made our lives comfortable than any other generation before where we can survive for days without moving out of our homes.

But wait. This blog has something more insightful to offer.

So, let's start with the basics.

What does a physical workout do to our body?

• Tones body
• Keeps Heart healthy.
• Strengthens muscles.
• Increases lung capacity.
• Makes us fit…

…blah...blah…blah and the list continue …” yes, we all know this. Nothing new.”

OK... No worries!! Let’s dive deeper now!

We all know the benefits of exercise in shaping our physical structure, but do we know the miracles it does to our overall well-being?

Besides burning fat and toning our bodies, let's look at the manifold benefits of physical activity to our body, mind, and spirit:

1. Keeps Body Healthy

• Keeps our heart healthy: Regular exercise helps your heart muscle become more efficient and better able to pump blood throughout your body. This means that the heart pushes out more blood with each beat, allowing it to beat slower and keep your blood pressure under control. When you exercise regularly, your body’s tissue (including the heart) does a better job of pulling oxygen from your blood. This allows your heart to work better under stress and keeps you from getting winded during high-intensity activities. Studies also show that it helps your body make more branches and connections between these blood vessels, so there are other routes for your blood to travel if the usual path is blocked by narrow arteries or fatty deposits.

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• Increases Lungs capacity: As you should have learned in biology class, your lungs bring oxygen into the body and expel carbon dioxide. When you exercise, this process happens quicker and makes your lungs stronger and more efficient over time.

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• Strengthens bones and muscles: You might think of your bones as solid and idle, but in reality, they consist of active, living tissue that adapts to the strains and stress of physical activity/regular exercise — particularly activities that put force on the bones, such as gymnastics, jumping, and running — can stimulate cells in the bones to fortify themselves. These cellular and other mechanisms, which experts still don’t fully understand, contribute to improved bone structure, strength, and density. Studies on gymnasts, for example, show that their activity markedly increases their bone density. Building muscle can also benefit your bones. Strong fibers of muscle actually pull on the bone when they contract, which nudges bone cells into action to help strengthen the bones.
• Improves skin and keeps you young: By increasing blood flow, exercise helps nourish skin cells and keep them vital. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to working cells throughout the body, including the skin. But by increasing blood flow, a bit of exercise helps flush cellular debris out of the system. You can think of it as cleansing your skin from the inside giving you a post-workout glow.

2. Sharpens Brain

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• There have been various studies that indicate that cardiovascular exercise creates new brain cells — a process called neurogenesis which improves overall brain performance.
• Regular exercise also prevents cognitive decline and memory loss by strengthening the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
• Studies also prove that physical activity boosts creativity and mental energy. So, if you’re in need of inspiration, your big idea could be just a walk or jog away.

3. Makes you a happier person.

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• When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. Scientists have found that these feel-good hormones “endorphins” have been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem.
• Following that fixed running routine, joining swimming classes, those yoga sessions, etc. all make you follow a regimen that adds discipline to your life making you grow in other areas of your life by developing good habits in you.
• Helps get rid of cravings such as food cravings, smoking, etc. Studies prove that exercises increase the activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in planning and inhibitory control which strengthens your brain’s ability to resist unhealthy habits over more healthful options. There are many studies that have proven that withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, trouble sleeping, etc, and cravings for cigarettes decrease during exercise and for as long as 50 minutes afterward.
• Increase energy, makes you active. Increases confidence. There’s no doubt that people who are regular workout enthusiasts have a different level of active personality.

OK fine...!! But how to develop this habit?

Let’s follow the below 5-step plan:

1. Find an activity that you would love to do daily. You don’t need to be a gym person in order to be fit, find any activity that suits you. Just make sure you find one that would give you enough energy to get going for it daily or maybe a few days a week.
2. Fix a time of the day for that. Don’t delay the decision on other activities saying I will go to the gym when I get free, fix a time. Do that activity at the same time daily so that your brain adapts to that and triggers your body automatically daily. Morning evening afternoon whatever suits you, fix a time and get going at that time.
3. Train your mind for that activity. No one says it's going to be easy. Working out is physical but sticking to a routine is mental. Stick to the schedule and the routine for some time for at least 40 days to come so that your brain and body form a permanent pattern inside which is difficult to break.
4. Find your reward in your activity. Most people keep weight loss as their motivation which makes them slow in case, they don’t see results. Shift your motivation. Feel the energy and the positivity you feel in you after an awesome workout session and keep that as your motivation. Don’t do the physical regime for just the sweat, realize the levels of relaxation you feel after that and be aware of it.
5. If the routine breaks for some reason, don’t go on for a self-loathing session spoiling all the effort you had put up in following the routine before it. Breaking of routine is normal, but you need to get up and start again. Most people fail because once the routine breaks, they start blaming themselves and leave the discipline, thus never recovering. Don’t do that. Persevere!

Just like we spend time on the maintenance of our cars, our body needs maintenance too for better performance.

When you get started, you’ll have to push through a hump during which your body may feel more exhausted than usual for the first two weeks. At first, it will be tough, just like anything else, it will be painful. But we need to push through that initial discomfort, remembering that it takes the brain and body time to adjust to a new regimen. It’s hard at first, but it’s for your brain strength. So go get going...!!

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Your body is your most priceless possession. Take care of it...!

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