Fitness Training And Fitness Tips For The Body & Mind

Fitness Training And Fitness Tips For The Body & Mind

Mental Fitness Tips

The other claim, however, that exercise stimulates activity in the frontal lobes of the brain are true. In tests conducted with animals, it has been found that physical activity increases levels of serotonin, dopamine, and also norepinephrine.

All of these chemicals are your body’s natural ‘mood enhancers’ and some are even natural analgesics, or rather, painkillers. So the Zoloft you may take every morning when you wake up might easily be replaced by exercise, or just by staying fit, as doing these things help to keep those levels of ‘happy chemicals’ in your brain up to par. There are also other chemicals that are released when we exercise, such as the “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF), which are also thought to play a part in our mood.

Staying fit also helps you in more obvious ways as well. Its impact on your physical well-being is just as important as your mental health, even if it is a little bit farther into the future. Gaining lots of weight, and eventually getting ‘out of shape’ puts tremendous stress on the body. Excessive weight, or obesity, has been linked to many different diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. Unfortunately, these things can, most of the time, be prevented very easily with a proper diet and exercise. Sometimes though, it is unpreventable. Such as when it is linked to certain other diseases, side effects from medicine you may be taking, or just plain genetics. The key is though when you can prevent it, to do so.

Diet is another extremely important factor when talking about staying physically fit, however, it is something that can easily be overlooked. A poor diet has been related to many different problems including obesity, heart disease, and even some other things that would surely surprise you such as depression and infertility. Just like how the exercise you may or may not get greatly impacts your mental health, so does the diet. All the great chemicals in our brain that keep us happy such as dopamine and serotonin have to be made somehow. Our brain manufactures these things by processing different chemicals out of the food that we eat.

Also, we have to take into consideration that just as how we wouldn’t go around taking random pills from people’s houses and ingesting them, we shouldn’t be eating just any food. Just as how the medicine we take greatly affects our body, so does food. That tasty burger from the local fast food place might be quick and easy, and even smell great, but you can be sure that your body doesn’t appreciate all of that grease and fat. Some fat is necessary for you to function. The membrane that holds together every single cell within your body is made from fat. If you never ate any fat your fingernails would stop growing, all of your hair would fall out and even more! So obviously just cutting certain things out completely is not a good idea. The thing to remember is not to just get rid of things, but make sure that your diet is balanced and you get everything your body needs from the food that you eat.

Spiritual Fitness Tips

One of the most obscure, and rarely mentioned, impacts of physical fitness is how it can affect our spiritual well being. Now, my spiritual health, it must be pointed out that these words do not ascertain to merely one religion. The important point to remember is that how we feel spiritually can greatly impact our physical well-being, but also vice-versa. Depression has been known to be caused by losing faith in one’s religion, and depression can cause many problems by itself. Things can also work the other way, as we’ve already seen. If a person stays fit and active, their outlook on life will be dramatically increased. Also, maintaining an unhealthy diet also impacts our spiritual state. Gluttony is something that is frowned upon in just about every religion. It’s near impossible to feel comfortable with your spirituality if you’re not physically fit.

Even though being the skinniest one around may only seem like an intricate fashion statement, it really does go beyond aesthetics. Being physically fit is not only extremely beneficial to your body, but it is also just as pertinent to your mental and spiritual health. Even though diet and exercise are not the ‘magic cure’, or the end all be all, for staying in tip-top shape, it can greatly increase your length and quality of life. It can help to keep you off of expensive pills from your doctor such as anti-depressants or medicines for your high cholesterol. As already mentioned, staying physically fit will not cure all of your problems, but every little bit helps, and sometimes, it can exponentially increase the enjoyment you receive from life.