The Benefits of Exercise
Exercise can have a surprising number of benefits: it can improve your cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance, which translates into an increase in energy; it can dramatically reduce the risk of coronary artery disease; it may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and aid in weight control; and it appears to give self-esteem a measurable boost, and in general to improve your sense of well-being.
You can derive these benefits at any age, and indeed, exercise – or at least staying physically active – appears to be increasingly important the older we get. Many of the problems commonly associated with aging – increased body fat, decreased muscular strength and flexibility, loss of bone mass, lower metabolism, and slower reaction times – are often signs of inactivity that can be minimized or even prevented by exercise.