The fast-food culture people in the Western countries have combined with the hectic schedules that leave little room for daily exercise are causing more and more people to fall victim to obesity. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the percentage of overweight Americans at 66% and almost half that number already obese.
Indeed, as the pace of life becomes increasingly faster, our waistlines are growing and wearing tight, sexy clothes have ceased to be an option for most folks. Working the daily grind has made it quite difficult to stay in shape these days but not at all impossible if we really put our mind to it.
Keeping our weight down through constant exercise is the fastest way to trim the inches around our bellies and fit in those favorite pair of denims exiled deep in our closet. True that maintaining a regular workout regimen seems impossible with our hectic schedules, but with the myriad of benefits we get through regular exercise it’s ridiculous not to.
Aside from the ability to sport the tight clothes often featured in today’s top fashion magazines and catwalks, exercising regularly also gives us a potpourri of health benefits. Lowered blood sugar and cholesterol levels, an enforced immune system, improved endurance, balance and joint strength (making us less susceptible to injury and osteoarthritis)- these are just a few of the advantages we get from staying in shape.
Regular exercise is also a perfect stress reliever- quite useful in these financially hard times. Hypertension brought about by too much stress is one of the major causes of death right now in the world’s top urban centers. Aside from lengthening our lives, working-out and getting lean will give us a more positive outlook because of endorphins released by the brain after intense activity. Remember- positivity begets productivity and happiness.
Tight, toned abs, a sculpted physique and stress release- all this can be gained with the proper exercise regimen. Even people that have less than an hour a day to exercise can reap the benefits by maximizing their aerobic and strength-building exercises.
Though aerobic exercises done for extended periods have been proven to be the best for burning body fat without sacrificing glycogen needed by the muscles, most people don’t have enough time to perform them each day. High intensity cardio and anaerobic exercises can be effective ways to lose weight as well.
Doing moderate cardio exercises interspersed with periods of high intensity maximizes calorie-burn- enabling us to get out of the gym quicker. The same goes for with doing abdominal exercises and weight training using an exercise ball or similar aid. The effort of trying to stay balanced while doing the reps recruits more muscle groups in activity and this means more caloric energy spent in less time.
