Image by: Adrien Midgley
By Jake Bradshaw
Physical health is the most important thing any man can focus on, especially later in life. Not only does it affect our overall health and the way our inner organs feed off each other, but it also has the power over our mood. The things we do ultimately challenge the way we feel and think. Everything is connected in the human body, and it’s time we all learned exactly how.
Regular Exercise Creates A Physiological Pattern
When men hear that exercise benefits the brain, a lot of them think that doing a few laps around the track will instantly boost their brain power or heal their depression. Most likely it won’t. However, regular exercise not only creates a timely release of “happy chemicals,” but it will begin to do in a consistent way once you’ve built a regular routine.
Our bodies do exactly what we tell it to do. In a way, it’s addicted to habit. Once we get a grove, it’s easy for our body to stick with it even after we’ve stopped the routine for a while. The first five minutes on a treadmill are the hardest. It’s the same idea with any exercise program.
It’s always going to be hard at first, but once you’re past the first few weeks it’ll be a piece of cake. Here are three perks that come with physical exercise:
Physical Health Can Heal Depression
In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers discovered that regular exercise might be an acceptable substitute for antidepressants. Because exercise releases feel-good chemicals within the brain (neurotransmitters and endorphins), depression, which is caused by the lack of these chemicals, stands a much better chance at decreasing.
But it doesn’t just stop there. Because of the release of neurotransmitters and endorphins, we also reduce immune system chemicals that may worsen the progress of depression.
*Fun Fact: the more we exercise, the higher our body temperature gets. Though you might think this to be counterproductive, it actually gives a calming effect and will make our bodies more adaptable to weather changes.
Workout Goals Build Confidence
Meeting exercise goals, even when they’re small, boosts our self-confidence higher than we can ever think. It’s always important to keep track of your progress and/or have a set goal in regards to certain areas of the body, i.e. arms, chest, stomach. When we see the results, all our hard work has paid off. That’s the best reward any man can have.
Goals don’t just help with our confidence, it also gives us something to strive for which can build our self-esteem while strengthening our focus and stamina to achieve these goals. The more confident we are in our appearance, the better we’ll fell about ourselves.
Fitness Distracts Our Stress
Whenever someone asks me the best thing to do whenever they need to get their mind off something, I always tell them to exercise. It forces you to break away from the cycle of negativity around you which have the tendency to spark anxiety and paranoia. If we depend on these things to go away on their own, we’ll be in serious trouble.
A man’s time at the gym or track is his and his alone. There is nothing surrounding him except his own thoughts and determination to achieve his goals. The normal day to day issues will slowly become less important. By making this a habit, not only will our brain train itself how to handle stress, but it will also teach us how to filter our own thoughts.