Why is being fit important?

You’d have heard a lot of personal trainers and other fitness professionals saying that you need to be ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’. We know that fitness isn’t just a one-dimensional concept. Being ‘fit’ can take the form of:

• Cardiovascular fitness,
• Muscle strength and endurance,
• Flexibility.

You can be fit in one of these areas or all three of them. The more areas that you excel in, the better it is for you. But WHY is being fit important?

Better-looking body

First up being fit ensures that you have a great-looking body:

• Cardiovascular exercise – such as spinning and running on the treadmill – helps you to lose weight, and
• Weightlifting will help you tone your body up.

Many women that we speak to say that they won’t ever lift weights because this will make them bulky like a man. If a woman wanted to become bulky, she could, however normal weight training won’t get women to look like men. Weight training helps strengthen bones and prevent the development of diseases such as osteoporosis. – if you need help with this, consult a qualified personal trainer who will assist you.

Boosted immunity

There are many diseases out there nowadays. Medical technology has progressed to such a stage that there is a pill to fight nearly all of these diseases. Although this is fantastic, the problem is that people are quick to take a pill for everything, even though the better course of action is to let the body fight off the infection itself. The result? The population has become drug-resistant which means that the medicine that is available doesn’t do what it is supposed to. In fact, it has become largely ineffectual.

The other result is that our immune systems have become weaker and, thus, more susceptible to infection. Think about the immune system as if it were a muscle. As a muscle becomes stronger when you work it out, so too does the immune system become stronger as it works. So if you don’t let your immune system do its job, it will become weaker. Exercise produces a change in antibodies as well as white blood cells (WBC) which are the immune cells of the body which fight disease.

Decreased risk of disease

When you are fit and healthy, your body functions optimally and your organs function as they should. The result of this is that:

• You’ll have a decrease risk of heart disease,
• You’ll be less pre-disposed to colds and flu, and
• Your risk of diabetes will decrease.

But don’t think that as exercise and being fit has a positive correlation with staving off disease that you should over exercise. Too much exercise is a bad thing as you could end up with stress fractures and muscle tears as a result.

Less stress

Our bodies release stress hormone (cortisol) when we’re anxious. We become hyperalert and go into Fight or Flight Syndrome. Biologically speaking, this reaction exists to prevent us from entering into dangerous situations, such as being in close proximity to a lion. The release of this hormone results in:

• Increased blood pressure and blood sugar, as well as
• Suppressing the immune system.

This means that the more stress we put ourselves under, the longer our blood pressure will remain elevated. In addition, our immune systems will remain suppressed for longer. As a result, we become more at risk for diseases such as hypertension.

So you’ve seen why becoming fit is important. What are you waiting for? Head on down to the gym now and start training!