Reasons for Staying in Shape

    Here are good reasons for staying in shape by playing with the Burlington Old-Timers Soccer Club.

1. Exercise reduces body fat :
   Exercise is essential in any weight-loss program. Exercise burns calories, and weight lost through a program of low-fat living and exercise is more likely to reduce fat, rather than water or muscle tissue loss. Weight loss is more likely to be maintained if a person continues to exercise. Since a history of repeated weight gain is harmful to your health and seems to slow your metabolic rate, slow but sure weight loss that stays off is the only way to go.

2. Exercise helps reduce back problems:
   Maintaining flexibility in the muscles of the legs and lower back, and strength in the abdominal muscles can help prevent the development of back problems.

3. Exercise reduces stress :
   Exercise makes life more fun! As fitness improves, activity  becomes easier, and you’re more likely to go out for a hike, or enjoy a day of skiing. Exercise increases your stress-resistance, helps you feel more relaxed and even sleep better.

4. Exercise builds muscle :
   Physical activity also strengthens the muscles and joints and other structures that help hold the body together, like tendons and ligaments.

5. Regular exercise helps prevent heart disease :
   Aerobic exercise can slow down the build-up of plaque in the arteries of the heart. Active people tend to have cleaner arteries. Aerobic exercise increases the level of the “good” HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, which helps carry the cholesterol out of the arteries, while decreasing the “bad” LDL cholesterol, which is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Aerobic exercise helps to prevent obstructive blood clots from forming in the arteries.

6. Exercise increases metabolism :
   By preventing the loss of metabolically active muscle tissue (lean body mass) exercise helps prevent the drop in metabolic rate that sometimes accompanies weight loss and the gradual decline in metabolic rate that occurs as we age.

7. Exercise slows down the aging process :
   Exercise can slow the loss of stamina, strength, flexibility, bone density, metabolic rate and general enthusiasm for being active that seems to go with getting older. Exercise gives you the ability to maintain an independent lifestyle and increases the likelihood that you’ll enjoy your post-retirement years.

8. Exercise helps prevent osteoporosis :
   Exercise such as walking, jogging, playing soccer, racquet sports—any activity that applies some force to the bones—prevents osteoporosis, which is a condition characterized by reduced bone mass with decreased density and enlargement of bone spaces producing porosity and fragility (better known as aches and pains).

9. Aerobic exercise helps to reduce blood pressure :
   Aerobic exercise makes the heart stronger and a more efficient pump. Resting heart rate usually decreases after exercise training because the heart can pump more blood per beat. Therefore, it needs to beat fewer times to circulate a given amount of blood.

10. Exercise can help prevent diabetes :
    Exercise improves the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar.

 

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