It’s January! It’s crazy resolution to diet and exercise season! I’m sitting here eating too much hummus and using too many exclamation points!! Leave it to my friend Eva, a.k.a. Fit Mommy, from Fitness by Eva to remind me how great an hour of exercise really is for me. Too, easily I cop out on the couch and rely on a good diet to get me through. Without further ado, here’s Eva!
Within one hour of exercise – from Fitness by Eva
The November/December issue of Fitness Magazine published a fantastic article about the immediate benefits of exercise. Did you know that within one hour of starting to workout you will experience health benefits? Here are just a few:
1. A better immune system! Afraid of the cold and flu season? Well, I will advise you to not only get a flu shot, but keep up the exercise. Fitness magazine says that “Exercise elevates your levels of immunoglobulins, which are proteins that help bolster your immune system and ward off infection.” When you hit the gym, you are better protected against the ‘sicklies’ for about 24 hours.
2. Lowered Stress! Exercise produces the happy brain chemicals like serotonin, dopomine and norepinephrine for a couple of hours post-sweat. These chemicals will help to alleviate any kind of worry and stress in your life. In fact, this is exactly why I still make sure to workout before I start to clean the house. After I workout, I am much less worried about anything, including tidiness.
3. Higher calorie burn at rest! While you workout, you are obviously going to experience the most calorie burn, however, afterward, exercise speeds up your metabolism, so that you continue to burn a few more calories after you are done. In addition, as your muscles get stronger, they burn more calories at rest! Fitness magazine actually says that strength training will turbocharge your calorie burn for up to 38 hours!
4. A feeling of accomplishment! You accomplished a workout and that is enough to make you feel great. It isn’t easy to fit in exercise and many people don’t even try. However, you did it! You beat the odds and are on your way to a healthier life! Congratulations, give yourself a pat on the back!
Yes, there is immediate gratification with exercise. Just because we can’t drop a size in an hour, doesn’t mean that we can’t feel fantastic with every stride or rep. Fit in a workout today and feel instantly better!
Eva Johnson is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified personal trainer, who is waiting anxiously for her whole wheat pizza dough to rise as she blogs. She lives in chaos with her husband and two boys. To see her complete blog about how to stay sane and in shape in the real world, visit www.fitnessbyeva.com.
