Posted on September 10, 2015 by Jenny Cromack

I have been working as a personal trainer or in the fitness industry for the last 15 or so years, and from my experience I think there has been a change in tide about the reasons why people exercise.

When I first started working as a personal trainer the majority of my clients were weight loss/fat loss clients who wanted to shed inches, lose a few dress sizes or go down a few notches on their belt. I appreciate that looking better makes people feel better about themselves, feel more confident and this has a positive impact on other areas in their lives such as relationships, work life, etc. But ultimately, most people would come to me with an aesthetic goal in mind which was their focal point, and then all of the other benefits to being healthier and more active would be secondary.

In the last year or so, I personally think that aesthetic goals have taken a bit of a backseat and people seem to be more interested in ‘just being healthy’, because they know that being healthy benefits many other areas of their lives. I’m not saying that people don’t to look better too, they do, but they want to feel healthy on the inside not just on the outside. After all you could have your dream body, but what if you’re not healthy on the inside….then that sucks….unfortunately, your friend who is healthier inside is bound to outlive you. So, don’t just focus on how you look, but also about all of those other health benefits associated with being more active and eating a healthy diet.

The Benefits of Being Healthy

1. Exercise improves sleep. A study in the Journal of Mental Health & physical Activity found that 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise improved their sleep quality by 65 percent. The individuals also felt more alert during the day. (Take a read of one of our articles about how to get a good nights sleep)

2. Regular exercise:

– Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes, some cancers, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes

 

– Improves our balance and mobility , reducing the risk of falls in later life.

3. Exercise improves our feelings of well-being. Exercise is well documented to reduce anxiety and depression and if you already exercise, you will know how great you feel once the endorphins have kicked in following a workout! But over time, the culmination of many workouts has a huge impact on our every day mood and well-being.

4. Exercise improves our energy levels. We all know that exercising allows us to run a 5k or bike to work, but what about all those other little activities we take for granted…..playing with your children/grandchildren, running for the bus….what if you were so unfit you couldn’t run around with your children, that would be very sad, and I’ll be honest is often the reason why many of my clients come to me to become fitter and more active. If that isn’t a motivator I don’t know what is!

5. Exercise improves our longevity. Now, I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t exercise to (hopefully!) look good, I do, but it’s not the be all and end all. I know I’d rather be fitter, more active and disease free and live to a ripe old age then purely exercise because I want to look great!

6. Exercise improves our relationships. I think that all of the above benefits of being healthy help with our relationships in our personal and working lives. If we are happier, getting more sleep and feel better about ourselves then this has a positive impact on our relationships.

The next time you’re going to skip a workout, remind yourself of all of these benefits of being healthy and use this to motivate you. It doesn’t have to be a long workout….20-30 minutes is great on those days when you don’t think you can be bothered…believe me after this those endorphins will be flowing and you’ll wonder why you ever even considered not doing that workout!