5 immediate benefits exercise provides

We all want that quick fix right?  If we put on a new skin care cream at night, we want to see results the next morning.  Or what about the dozens of “lose weight quick” diets that promise fast weight loss in a matter of days?

Getting fast results is one thing but more importantly, do the results last long term?  One activity providing long health range benefits is exercise.  When we make exercise a regular, consistent part of our lives, we really will reap what we sow as in getting and staying healthier for life. 

But many people view exercise as a venture that produces delayed gratification and in many ways, this is true.  Weight loss, strength and overall health are delayed benefits of being physically active – they won’t happen overnight.   However, did you know there are many instant benefits of exercise provides to our health that occur right away?  Some you actually can feel while others are more subtle but yet very important to achieving the kind of health we want. 

Here are 5 immediate gratification benefits we all can achieve when we exercise:

1.  Vast improvement in mood and attitude

Not everyone is always gung-ho and excited to exercise.  If we’re feeling sluggish or nonproductive, the last thing you may want to do is work up a sweat.  But don’t let those feelings get in your way.  Taking part in exercise releases endorphins and improves your mood.  The more effort you put forth in a workout, the more endorphins are released.  The sense of accomplishment and endorphin high can help fight depression and leave you feeling much happier, self-confident, and upbeat.  Just think if you exercise every day how you are going to feel.

2. Keeps muscles from tightening up

Exercise has special qualities on your muscles as it takes them from a static state to a very active state.  The movement and increased blood flow allows the muscles to warm releasing tightness/soreness from muscles that have been inactive for an extended period of time.  This allows the muscles to be stretched easier at the end of a workout and can help lengthen them and return more optimal function to the muscle.

3.  Lowers blood pressure

If you care about your blood pressure, take the time to exercise.  A cardiovascular workout such as swimming, brisk walking, bicycling, or jogging can have profound effects on helping lower blood pressure after each exercise session. With age, blood vessels stiffen and restrict blood flow causing blood pressure to rise.  Exercise releases hormones immediately that can help to make these blood vessels flexible and decrease the rise in blood pressure.

4.  Instant boost to metabolism

The minute you start exercising, your heart rate rises, your breathing more deeply, your muscles are moving and all this is leading to an instant boost in your metabolism.  Metabolism is the rate at which you burn calories.  When you exercise, your brain also gets involved by producing neurochemicals.  These neurochemicals increase metabolism allowing you to still be burning calories even after your exercise session is done.  This increased usage of calories can last from a couple of hours up to a couple of days.  But to keep your metabolic rate elevated, getting into a regular exercise routine is a must.

5.  You’ll be much more creative

Who would have thought that being physically active means you also are more creative?  A thirty-minute aerobic workout can increase your creativity skills for up to two hours post-exercise, according to one study.  Want to supercharge the effects?  Take that workout outdoors – spending time in nature boosts the cognitive effects also.