Exercise is one of the most important things for your mind and your body. Exercise helps you feel better, look better and decrease the risk of some diseases. It affects how you feel physically and emotionally. It affects how you look and contributes to your quality of life. How you feel physically affects how you feel emotionally and vice versa.

Exercise can affect how you feel. Have you ever noticed after a stressful day of work, how taking a walk can make you feel more relaxed or how much better you sleep after exercising?

After establishing a regular exercise routine, the person gains mental benefits. For example, the person grows to be more energetic, increased ability to relax and an improved overall mood. Other that these, exercise actually brings about stress reduction, an improved ability to fall asleep and stay sleep and a decrease in depression and anxiety.

Exercise can change how one look. Exercise burns calories and helps lose body fat. An hour of moderately brisk walking, bicycle riding or swimming can burn 200-300 calories. Increasing the intensity of an activity will increase the number of calories you burn. You need to burn approximately 3,500 calories more than you consume to lose 1 pound. So exercise, along with a proper diet can help you lose weight. Exercise also helps tone your muscles. Losing body fat and toning your muscles will change the shape of your body.

Research has shown that exercise can reduce and in some cases prevent the risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis

Heart Disease
Heart disease is the number one killer of both women and men. Low to moderate intensity cardio-respiratory exercises such as walking, swimming, bicycling and hiking can, reduce the risk of heart disease by reducing or eliminating some risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood cholesterol.

Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that causes increased levels of glucose (sugar), in the blood. Left untreated, diabetes can cause numerous health problems such as heart disease, eye problems and kidney failure. Exercise and proper diet can help regulate blood sugar levels, cholesterol and increase fat loss, which will decrease the risk of illness.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones characterised by decreased bone mass and increased risk of bone fracture. Resistance training may prevent and treat osteoporosis by stimulating an increase in bone mass. Resistance training usually involves the use of weights when performing exercises including your own body weight.