Can you believe that 2012 has arrived? December can feel like a rolling end-of-year celebration. Then just add Christmas/New Year family get-togethers to the mix and it’s a recipe to become like a BIG FAT partridge in a pear tree! But it needn’t be like that. Fitness Instructor Sheree King explains the benefits of exercise, and how it can mirror spiritual health. 

Exercise is critical to good health. Besides the obvious benefits, such as a leaner, stronger body, there are many advantages of exercise we can’t actually see. Nearly every organ and every cell in the body is affected as we begin to move more.

The cardiovascular system includes the heart and blood vessels through which our oxygen is supplied and where waste products are removed from the cells. With exercise, this system learns to work more efficiently as the heart muscle grows stronger, and therefore greater amounts of oxygen are transferred from the respiratory system into our bodies. The blood vessels also become more elastic, allowing a greater blood flow through the body so that blood pressure is lowered.

The musculoskeletal system is made up of your muscles and bones and undergoes a number of changes during regular exercise. Joints of the body are able to move with a bigger range of motion, and so allow faster, more powerful and more stable movements, therefore reducing the risk of injury.

Bone density is increased with weight bearing activities such as walking, running or dancing. Increasing bone density reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis, along with adequate calcium and Vitamin D intake.

Cortisol, a stress hormone responsible for an increase of fat in the abdominal region, reduces with exercise, thereby making weight loss easier, and reducing the risk of heart disease.

Brain function is affected by exercise, with an improvement in mental health due to improved blood flow, and oxygen to the brain, and the release of ‘feel good’ hormones such as endorphins into the body. These hormones are known to stay elevated for up to 12 hours after the exercise is over. Endorphins are believed to relieve pain, control feelings of stress and frustration, enhance the immune system and slow the ageing process. Even 10 minutes of moderate exercise is enough to improve your mood and decrease fatigue.
   
The Bible tells us to look after our bodies, our ‘temples’ of the Holy Spirit.  When we start to seek God through the Bible and through prayer, the changes that begin on the inside soon become more obvious on the outside in how we think and feel about ourselves and others. It’s just like the physical body: what we put in to it will alter what is on the outside.

With all these benefits, it’s pretty clear that exercise will change your life – and make your Christmas far less damaging to your long-term health. Today is the day to make changes, both spiritually and physically towards health and wholeness. Find out what works for you, and DO IT! 

About Sheree King
Sheree is a Kingston-based group fitness and boot camp instructor, personal trainer, Registered Nurse and zumba instructor. She is passionate to see people of all shapes, ages and fitness levels become fitter and stronger, body, soul AND spirit