The definition of working out is “a practice or exercise to test or improve one’s fitness for athletic competition, ability, or performance.” Working out does many different things for you and is one of the best things to do for yourself and comes with many benefits that can help us in so many different aspects of our lives.

One of the benefits of working out is that exercise can make you feel happier. Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity to the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression. Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain. Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how intense your workout is. It seems that exercise can benefit your mood no matter the intensity of the physical activity. In fact, in a study of 24 women diagnosed with depression, exercise of any intensity significantly decreased feelings of depression. The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that choosing to exercise (or not) even makes a difference over short periods of time. One review of 19 studies found that active people who stopped exercising regularly experienced significant increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, even after only a few weeks.

Another benefit of working out is that exercise can help with weight loss. Some studies have shown that inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity. To understand the effect of exercise on weight reduction, it is important to understand the relationship between exercise and energy expenditure (spending). Your body spends energy in three ways: digesting food, exercising, and maintaining body functions, like your heartbeat and breathing. While dieting, a reduced calorie intake will lower your metabolic rate, which can temporarily delay weight loss. On the contrary, regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which can burn more calories to help you lose weight. Additionally, studies have shown that combining aerobic exercise with resistance training can maximize fat loss and muscle mass maintenance, which is essential for keeping the weight off and maintaining lean muscle mass.

Another benefit of working out is that exercising is good for your muscles and bones. Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones. Activities like weightlifting can stimulate muscle building when paired with adequate protein intake. This is because exercise helps release hormones that promote your muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids. This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown. As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and function, which can lead to an increased risk of injury. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age. Exercise also helps build bone density when you’re younger, in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life. Some research suggests that high-impact exercise (such as gymnastics or running) or odd-impact sports (such as soccer and basketball) may help promote a higher bone density than no-impact sports like swimming and cycling.

Another benefit of working out is that exercise can reduce your risk of chronic disease. Lack of regular physical activity is a primary cause of chronic disease. Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, heart health, and body composition. It can also decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels. More specifically, exercise can help reduce or prevent the following chronic health conditions. Type 2 diabetes. Regular aerobic exercise may delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. It also has considerable health benefits for people with type 1 diabetes. Resistance training for type 2 diabetes includes improvements in fat mass, blood pressure, lean body mass, insulin resistance, and glycemic control. Heart disease. Exercise reduces cardiovascular risk factors and is also a therapeutic treatment for people with cardiovascular disease. Many types of cancer. Exercise can help reduce the risk of several cancers, including breast, colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, lung, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, thyroid, gastric, and esophageal cancer. High cholesterol. Regular moderate-intensity physical activity can increase HDL (good) cholesterol while maintaining or offsetting increases in LDL (bad) cholesterol. Research supports the theory that high-intensity aerobic activity is needed to lower LDL levels. Hypertension: Participating in regular aerobic exercise can lower resting systolic BP by 5–7 mmHg among people with hypertension. In contrast, a lack of regular exercise — even in the short term — can lead to significant increases in belly fat, which may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. That’s why regular physical activity is recommended to reduce belly fat and decrease the risk of developing these conditions.

Starting to go to the gym has changed my life in multiple ways. I wasn’t the happiest about my body before and I was sick of it and decided to go do something about it. Lifting has helped my mental and physical health in so many ways. Another benefit of lifting for me is all the friends and connections I have made with people. I have made a lot of friends over the past year from lifting and when I started working out all I wanted was advice and talking to new people helped guide me to know what I was doing. Making all the friends I have made has boosted my confidence and has helped me get out of my comfort zone and be happier.