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There are so many benefits with working out, and scientific research continues to confirm just how important it will be for our physical and mental well-being. Some of the most up-to-date research goes against the things we have been lead to believe over the years, such as the thought that you can be too old to start exercising, and more exercise becomes inevitably better. Both of those premises have been proved incorrect. Although it is best to exercise consistently all through your life, it's never too late to start out, and more intensive exercise over a shorter time frame is better than extended exercise durations. Exercise becomes more important when we get older. We now recognize that at any age you start exercising, you will be able to improve your balance, flexibility, strength, bone density and mental dexterity. The biggest problem to getting started is energy level. Regrettably, the older we become, the harder it can be to call upon our energy to exercise, and it becomes a "catch-22". By not exercising, we're unable to gather the energy to begin exercising. Another fallacy for training, that more is much better, just doesn't carry weight. It may seem counterintuitive, but tests have revealed that individuals who exercise on a moderate time frame get superior results than those that use a full hour or more every day. Intensity of the exercise routines will produce a difference, however. But at this point we want to get into just how exercise benefits our mental health. Some of the ways this will likely happen will be by increasing blood flow into the brain, the reduction of stress and improving hormonal levels. What is even better news is we can be subjected to such benefits virtually at once. The latest neuroscience suggests that physical exertion might be better than mental exercise, which is quite a revelation from what historically has been thought. Until recently it was held that we grew to be smarter throughout human history since we were required to think more. Those people who were smarter had been more successful on an evolutionary basis, enabling them to pass on their intelligence. During the last ten years roughly there has been a greater emphasis on physical activity as a key driver of superior intellect. We are able to apply such ideas to our lives now with the idea that if physical activity has helped on an evolutionary basis to structure our brains, it most likely remains essential to brain wellbeing now. There is really a considerable quantity of scientific support of this idea. A large amount of the testing has been done on laboratory rats. Some of the things that have come out of those assessments: 1. The tortoise approach beats the line of attack of the hare. The body and the mind perform more effectively when you do regular exercise over an extended time period, rather than sporadic bursts followed by intervals of inactivity. 2. The brain activity slows rather quickly as physical activity ends. In the tests on lab rats, it took about three weeks of inactivity before brain activity started to decrease, and it went steadily downhill after that. Much of the testing has been done on laboratory rats. A couple of the things which have come out of these tests: 1. The tortoise approach beats the line of attack of the hare. Your body and the mind function more efficiently if you do regular exercise over an extended period of time, rather than random bursts followed by intervals of inactivity. 2. The brain activity slows quite rapidly as physical activity ends. In the tests on lab rats, it took roughly three weeks of inactivity before brain activity began to decrease, and it went steadily downhill after that. When we exercise and get past that initial fatigue, it can be invigorating for both the body and the mind. Intense exercise in short duration is now considered the best way to exercise, as it gives a real aerobic workout. Rich Carroll is a writer and health enthusiast living in Chicago.
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