Exercise is for more than Fitness
Throughout my career as a Personal Trainer, I’ve worked with many people who move their body and are physically active, however, it’s very common when first beginning to work with someone, that exercise is seen only as a means to a physical end.
“I want to increase my cardiovascular endurance.”
“I want to gain muscle strength and size with resistance training.”
“I want to be able to go skiing with my family.”
The truth is, that the human body is capable of wild physiological adaptations through exercise, and many people use exercise to help them accomplish incredible physical feats. However, it is time to take a step back and look at the whole picture. The journal article I’ve cited at the top of this post does a great job of speaking to the benefits we get from exercise that go far beyond the physical environment.
This article cites research that exercise has a direct effect on the capabilities of the brain and the specific regions within it. Through inducing aerobic exercise, the body releases neurochemicals that not only restore or regenerate damaged nerve cells, but also help new ones proliferate.
If we can use this understanding to help us connect with the positive effects of exercise outside of just the physical realm, I think it is a key to creating a pursuit of physical activity throughout the lifespan. Some of the benefits we might think about gaining based on the study cited above:
Improved memory capabilities
Improved cognition/critical thinking abilities
Improved physiological resistance to stress in the brain
I could go on and on about the benefits, so these are just a few of the many. Moving forward, it is important that we think about exercise not as a one dimensional tool to create physical change in the body, but one that is multidimensional and creates a body and brain that are capable of enjoying a higher quality of life.
source
Erickson, Kirk I., et al. “Exercise Training Increases Size of Hippocampus and Improves Memory.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 108, no. 7, 2011, pp. 3017–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41002254. Accessed 5 Aug. 2022.
