Why Should I Exercise?

The hardest thing about starting an exercise program is, well, actually starting! It also can be difficult to stay motivated during the first few weeks, which is when you will want to quit the most and will be wondering, why I am doing this again? However, if you start any Beachbody program such as P90X, Insanity, or Chalean Extreme, there will be a specific schedule that you follow which can help keep you motivated during your journey, but after you have completed one round, it can often be difficult to stay with it. You may be thinking, what next? But your fitness journey never ends! You can always make improvements with your fitness and add variety and more intensity to obtain better and better results! That is also a reason why Beachbody has so many great exercises programs. They keep you motivated, and it is good to try something different every once in a while. If you are struggling with staying motivated, or need any advice or help with your workouts, you can always email me at rushing17@att.net for help, or visit the TeamBeachBody Message Boards.

Now, you may be wondering why you should exercise and workout in the first place. Exercising is not just so you can look good at the beach, it also has many health benefits, including some people don't even think of. Looking great is just one of the side affects of exercise, the main thing is having a healthy and active body that is less vulnerable to illness and injury. Looking great and having those sexy abs or firm thighs is just a way to show off your hard work, discipline, and it can also be a motivation to others to change their lives and become healthier. Don't get me wrong though, because I love having a great body! This is one way that I motivate myself to workout 5-6 days a week and to eat and stay healthy, which fitness is all about. Once you start exercising, you will notice dramatic effects about how you act, feel, and think. Here are some benefits of exercising.

1) Exercising Improves your Mood - Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can also help prevent depression. You will end up be more productive at work, school, and your home. People will notice your good attitude and ask you what is up, and that is when you can tell them about the benefits of exercise and TeamBeachbody!

2) Increased Energy - The right combination of exercise and nutrition creates an hormonal environment conducive to fat loss, increased muscle strength and increased energy. When your body is working at peak efficiency, your energy levels soar! Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. For me, this includes Karate, Running, Swimming, Hiking, Biking, and working out to P90X and Insanity!

3) Exercise helps manage your weight - When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials (Like the P90X or any other Beachbbody Infomercial, haha). Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Physical activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too. Also get involved in an exercise program 5-6 days a week. This can be any Beachbody program or going to the gym, running, biking, or swimming. Do whatever you enjoy and works for you.

4) Exercise promotes better sleep - A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There's a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day. I know after I hard intense work and a day of school, I am dead tired by the time I go to bed and I fall right to sleep. You also should try to get at 8 hours of sleep every night. I often only get 7 hours, but the main thing is to make sure you feel refreshed and energized throughout the day and don't feel like you are going to crash.

5) Exercise decreases your risk of heart attacks - By exercising regularly and making positive changes in your diet, you lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and greatly diminish the chances of having a heart attack. Cardiovascular exercise also creates a strong and healthy heart, especially HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), which is actually better than regular cardio because it makes your heart and lungs grow stronger and bigger.

6) Exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis - Regular exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise, reduces the risk of osteoporosis, and can even reverse it buy building bone tissue and muscle mass. So ladies, don't be afraid of putting on some muscle. It will just give you a toned look and will increase your metabolism and health.

7) Exercise Decreases your Stress Levels - The worries and stresses of everyday living such as commuting, work demands, conflicts, school, family, can stick with you long after the work day is done. Exercise right after work is the perfect natural therapy that can change your mood. Also a good yoga workout can greatly relieve stress and calm your mind and body. I also enjoy working out first thing in the morning. This helps me have a good productive day, and it also helps me stick with my diet. Also, when you sweat during exercise, you are releasing toxins out of your body and releasing hormones in your brain which help relieve stress and promote good health.

8) Exercise improves your body shape, muscle definition, endurance, and flexibility-
When you do HIIT (Such as Insanity), weight training (Such as P90X or Chalean Extreme), or yoga, you are doing exercises that help shape your body and improve your fitness. HIIT or any other cardio improves your endurance and will help shape your body and burn fat. A lot of cardio exercises like running, biking, plyometrics (Like PlyoX from P90X), and Insanity will also add leg definition and strength. Cardios like swimming and also Insanity will add upper body strength as well.
Weight training increases your muscle tissue and strength which will shape you body and make you look and feel good. More muscle also speeds up your metabolism and allows you to burn more calories throughout the day. Yoga will keep you lean and increase your flexibility. See my previous post about yoga for more information.

9) Exercise can be fun! - Yes, your heard me, exercise should be something that you enjoy. If you don't enjoy exercise and having a healthy lifestyle that will benefit you and others around you, then what is the point in doing it? It is important to find the right exercise program that works for you and that you enjoy doing everyday. My workouts are the favorite part of my day, and I always look forward to making improvements in every workout and doing better than I did in that last one.

There are countless benefits of exercising, but here are a few more.
-Improves circulation and helps reduce blood pressure and reduces joint discomfort.
-Increases body density and makes the body use calories more efficiently.
-Lowers resting heart rate and enhances immune system.
-Improves posture and eases and possibly eliminates back problems and pain.
-Decreases fat tissue more easily.
-May add a few years to life.
-Increases your range of motion and speed of muscle contraction and reaction time.
-Enhances immune system and improves glycogen storage.
-Enables the body to utilize energy more efficiently.
-Enhances oxygen transport throughout the body and improves liver functioning.
-Enhances feedback through the nervous system.
-Makes calcium transport in the heart and body more efficient.

Now I could of gone into detail about all of these, but I think you get the point. By exercising you will create a better you, and you will also be around to enjoy your life longer. So next time you think, hmmm, should I have this piece of cake, and then someone says, c'mon live is too short, you need to enjoy it, then just say "Well, my life will be short if I eat that cake!" Take control of your life. Bring it and Deep Deeper. Decide. Commit. Succeed.

The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is often considered not much of a workout and a waste of time, but it is really one of the most important workouts you can do. Yoga has many benefits for your body, both physically and mentally. Men often especially hate yoga because believe it is only for women. People also dislike yoga because it's too long, boring, and However, doing yoga is very important for anyone involved in fitness.

When I first started P90X, I was not excited at all about doing an hour and a half of Yoga X from P90X. I wanted to do a hardcore cardio workout like I had been doing my whole cross country season, not some silly stretching routine. However, after doing my first yoga workout ever, I realized that it was not easy as I suspected, and it gave me a good sweat and felt refreshed and energized afterwards. I also remember my dad doing yoga with me, and he was sweating buckets, he even had to go change his shirt half way through! Through the course of doing P90X I have come to love yoga and it has greatly improved my fitness. Yoga is also very important for me because I am a runner. Yoga greatly helps me avoiding injury and staying flexible for running. So what are all the benefits of doing yoga?

1) Increases flexibility. I have always been pretty flexible, but yoga has greatly increased it for me. When I first started I could touch my toes while keeping my legs straight, but now I can bring my head to my knees! Being flexible also reduces the chance of injury and always you to perform better in other workouts.

2) Muscle Toning. By doing yoga you are supporting own body weight in the moves. This increases strength, which helps tone your muscles.

3) Increases core strength. Yoga requires a strong core to hold a lot of the positions and stances, such as downward and upward dog, plank poses, and chair pose. You may not have a great core at first, but it will improve as you keep doing yoga. Core strength is also very important in sports.

4) Better Balance. In yoga you are often in positions on only one leg, which requires good balance. Also a lot of the lunge positions need balance because you are holding them for up to a minute. Balance is important in many sports such as gymnastics and dancing.

5) Better Posture. Yoga helps give you a strong and good posture. This helps keep you body in line and allow you to stand and sit taller. Also better posture will increase your awarness.

6) Increases internal lubrication. Yoga helps lubricate joints, ligaments, and tendons. Holding all of those positions requires certain muscles to work together. This helps cleanse your body and allow you to function better in physical activities.

7) Massaging of internal organs. By doing yoga you are massaging your internal organs and glands, which hardly ever get stimulated. The massaging of these body parts helps one to avoid diseases and helps you function better internally.

8) Refreshed. After a yoga workout, I always feel like a new person. You body has been "cleansed" and massaged. Blood has been flowing throughout your body, which helps flush out any unneeded toxins. This can delay aging and make anyone feel young and limber.

9) Breathing. Yoga requires deep, controlled, and mindful breathing. This increases your lung capacity wich improves endurance and performance. This is especially important for me while running.

I have noticed all of these benefits from doing yoga. But how often should you do yoga? I recommend doing a yoga workout at least once a week. I often try to get two in a week, but with a busy schedule it is often hard to get even a hour and a half Yoga X workout in. That is why there are also the Fountain of Youth Yoga (48 minutes) and Patience Yoga (40 minutes) from the One on One with Tony Horton workouts. These two yoga workouts are great if you are short on time or just don't enjoy doing an hour and a half of yoga. I have all three of these and enjoy them all. I will typically do Yoga X on Sunday, which is my off day, but I don't going a day without working out, so I do yoga. Tony Horton often also works out 7 days a week, using yoga as a recovery workout/day. I also try to do Fountain of Youth Yoga on Thursday evening, after have doing Interval X from P90X Plus in the morning. Yoga has greatly benefited me, especially through my running. A lot of my teammates are jealous of my flexibility, and I also have one of the best running forms on my team thanks to yoga! Now that you know the importance of doing yoga, make sure to not skip it even if you hate it! Yoga can also be used as a time to clear your mind of all worries and stress, which is very much need in today's society. Decide, Commit, Succeed.