Exercise, and why it is good for you - Information for teens

You must have heard it many times before.  "Exercise is good for you."  "You need to be active."  "Do not just sit around, you need to move."

Besides from exercise being good for you body and heart, it is also something that can make you feel better about yourself and build your self esteem. 

Self-esteem reflects an individual's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is the decision made by an individual as an attitude towards the self. ... Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include many things: self-worth, self-regard,self-respect, and self-integrity. 

As a teenager you need to get at least 60 minutes of exercise per day.  That may sound very long, but you do not have to do it all at once.  You can start doing things throughout the day like use the stairs, walk to the shop or take your bike instead of the car.  Dance around your room etc.

You do not only exercise in a gym, you can do it at your house or where ever you go.  As long as you move and not just sit around the whole day you will benefit from it.

You can benefit in the following ways if you make sure that you get some exercise

• It will not only benefit your body, but also your mind.  If you exercise you will be able to stay more focused and concentrate for longer
• Feeling a little down?  Exercise will let your body release 'feel good hormones' and your mood will be lifted
• You will get a better feeling about yourself and your self esteem will benefit from this
• It can help you loose weight if you need to and that in turn will also make you feel better about yourself
• It can help keeping your bones strong, which will benefit you when you grow older one day
• It can also lower your risk of getting diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and becoming overweight.

If you exercise regularly and you get your heart pumping faster and your lungs taking in more oxygen, you will let those organs become stronger.  The healthier they are, the healthier you will be.  You can once again decide what you would like to do to get your heart working, be it running, jogging, walking or dancing.

The rest of the muscles in your body will also become stronger with regular exercise and the muscles supports the bones and strong muscles will prevent you from getting hurt easily.

Exercise will also make your more flexible and that can help improve your performance in many sports.

You have maybe started off exercising with very good intentions, just to stop doing it after a week or two.  It is most probably because you were bored or you did something that was too difficult for you or above your level of fitness.

In order for you to keep on exercising, you need to find something that you like.  If you are not good at playing sports, or you do not like it, then do not do it.  But maybe you enjoy playing tennis or like taking your dog for a walk.

It does not matter what type of exercise you do, as long as you get your heart beating faster, keep on doing it.

Do not expect to see any results if you only do it once a week, you need to carry on with your exercise program and even if you start out slowly, in time you will get fitter and will be able to do more and before you know it, you are seeing results and also feel better.

Taking the first step can be the most difficult, but put your mind to it, take one step, then another and another and quickly you will be moving forward and would want to carry on.

For some motivating ideas you can read more here.

If you just think about the benefits of exercise for your muscles, heart and joints and overall feeling, it must be enough motivation for you to do it.  

The best thing about exercise is, it is never too late to start, no matter what your age or the shape of your body, so in the words of Nike.... 'Just do it'.