Benefits or Regular Daily Exercise

Words like exercise, physical activity, exertion and strength training often become mental barriers to people because these words mean stepping out of a comfort zone. Most people prefer the term 'comfort' because it means that you don't have to do anything more than what you are already doing. Comfort to most means sitting back and watching a movie, taking a power nap or eating (in most cases fast foods and processed foods) just to name a few. Comfort doesn't require any extra effort. Laying down on the couch is an effortless activity which has no benefit unless you are trying to recover from a serious workout or illness in which case you need that type of rest. Exercise requires 'Action' just like anything positive which you are trying to accomplish. If you want a degree, you have to go to school for many years and put it countless hours of studying. If you want to get better at your career you still have to put in countless hours of learning, successes and failures and a continuous effort to grow. A lot of people actually put more effort into their careers while neglecting their health not realizing that there are benefits to exercise, a good diet and proper rest that can help improve their careers at a much faster and efficient rate. Here are just some of the great reasons you should be exercising and how they will not just improve your health but also help you grow in your career:

• Increases HDL
• Decreases LDL
• Lowers Cholesterol
• Strengthens Your Bones
• Helps prevent Osteoporosis
• Improves sleep
• Combats depression and anxiety
• Improved memory
• Increases size of brain structure involved in memory
• Boost Immunity
• Increase rate of recovery from illness and serious injury
• Prevents Stroke
• Prevents Heart Disease
• Weight Control
• Prevents HBP
• Boosts Self-Image & Self-Confidence
• Strengthens Your Bones, Ligaments & Tendons
• Prevents and Reduces Injury severity 
• Improved performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)
• Increased work capacity
• Improved flexibility
• Decreased body fat stores
• Increased mobilization and utilization of fat
• Reduced glucose-stimulated insulin sensitivity
• Prevention of Type II Diabetes
• Decreased Resting Heart Rate
• Sports Performance enhancement
• Decreased incidence of some cancers
• Increased Total Blood Volume
• Keeps the spark and improve sexual performance
• Increased Energy (so you don't need to waste money on energy drinks or supplements)

These bullet point benefits are only a fraction of the positive reasons to exercise which are listed. Now that you have this information, you have a compiled list of various reasons to make the decision to exercise. Believe me! When you stick to it, you will be more than rewarded for stepping out the comfort zone.

Technology to Track Your Fitness

In today's world of technology you can find almost anything and everything online. You can also even download applications for your phone which will help you share life events like on Facebook and pin your favorite pictures on Pinterest to share with anyone and everyone. We use technology to do many things but rarely do we use it to help us stay healthy. I thought I would share some applications you can download on your phone to help you stay focused on your fitness goals as well as have a way to track your progress.

In today's world of technology you can find almost anything and everything online. You can also even download applications for your phone which will help you share life events like on Facebook and pin your favorite pictures on Pinterest to share with anyone and everyone. We use technology to do many things but rarely do we use it to help us stay healthy. I thought I would share some applications you can download on your phone to help you stay focused on your fitness goals as well as have a way to track your progress. 

If you are a Samsung or Droid phone user, odds are you have an application called SHealth already on you phone known. SHealth can help you track your daily steps like those fancy pedometers you see some people using. Walking '10,000 Steps' was first started in Japan to protect for the purpose of staying healthy and losing weight. Did you know that it takes about 2000 - 2500 steps to walk just 1 mile and you will burn somewhere between 250 - 600 calories? I mile is equivalent to 4 laps around a typical Track lane. To get 10,000 steps you will have to walk about 5 miles in one day which means 20 laps around the track. So to burn a typical cookie or donut you may have to walk at least a mile. If you had more than one you will probably need to walk 2 miles and that is not counting excess calories in other meals. If you had a Frappuccino later that day you will have to walk another mile or two. So is it worth it? Other great things you can do with SHealth: You can track your weight, exercise and food intake. You could also keep records of your blood sugar and blood pressure which will help you see how you are improving in these areas. If you decide to buy available accessories you will be able to track you heart rate and even your sleeping patterns. 

How about the iPhone? You can download MapMyWalk or MapMyRun may be the best free app you can use on your phone to help your health. What you can do with it: Map and track your walking routes, share and find routes others are using, track your food log and share your progress via Facebook and other social media to use it as a tool to ask your family or friends to hold you accountable for your goals to live a health life and maybe even lose some weight. 

The key here is it doesn't really matter walk type of exercise you do to stay health. What does matter is that you stay consistent and find a convenient and useful way to help track your progress. When you see results you are more likely to stay motivated and continue to do what seems to be working. Technology has made it easy for us to do many things so why not use it to stay healthy and track your fitness goals? Enjoy!

Have questions? If you have any questions you can reach me by e-mail at: damien@irondogfitness.com