Why Exercise?

Why Exercise?

We all know that exercise is good for us, but what exactly does it do for us that is so wonderful?

Physically speaking, we are still cavemen and women. We have not evolved physically very much from that time, and therefore our bodies were meant to move. We were never designed for sitting eight hours at a desk, or slouching in front of the TV for hours on end, but rather we were meant to hunt and carry our food home to our cave, and to gather berries and other edibles.

Imagine your life without chairs or beds. You would sleep on the ground and eat your food while sitting on the ground. You would be getting up off of the ground many many times each day, which for many of us today, would be a great deal of exercise. We were meant to be able to run and climb away from animals that might want to eat us. The physical activity of daily life kept our hearts, bones and joints healthy because they were continuously lubricated by the constant movement.

So what does cardio do for us?

1) gives us energy

2) oxygenates our blood

3) pumps our blood throughout our body which delivers nutrients to our cells and takes away waste from our cells

4) exercises our heart and makes it stronger so that it can pump more blood out with each beat, and therefore does not need to beat as frequently

5) causes us to breathe deeply which mobilizes our ribs and upper back, reducing stiffness and pain.

So go out for a jog, ride a bike, inline skate, cross-country ski, go for a swim, or use a treadmill, cross-trainer, bike or rower at the gym, and have some fun!