Surprisingly, the majority of males tend to exercise for muscle development and women, for the the emotional benefits and how they feel afterwards.

Overall, both males and females exercise for the following reasons: weight control, to increase energy, to tone up, to feel good, cardiovascular conditioning, to reduce stress, to keep flexible, time for oneself, for enjoyment, to build strength and to improve self-esteem.

People need to exercise. You may not be as strong as you like, nor desire to become really strong, but this doesn't matter.

Diet and exercise together is a key source of prevention for most age related conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and obesity.

If your goal is to either excel at sports, tone your thighs or to just build your self esteem, then you must make diet and then exercise priority.

Thus weight training is the stimuli needed to start your engines, keep the wheels rolling and produce desired results and nutrition becomes the fuel of all the systems involved and what the engines need to function.

To review, many of you may already know that adding exercise into the equation of diet and discipline can speed the weight loss progress up quite extensively.

For example, if you were to walk briskly for 15 to 20 minutes a day (in addition to following a 1,200-calorie diet) you could burn off an extra 100 calories a day - that's the amount of calories for those who would rather eliminate the extra calories through diet alone.

Either way, it is important to recognize that weight loss varies greatly from one person to the next depending on overall body size, metabolic rate, and activity level and we are left with the option of exercising or not.

I'm sure many of you already know or assume that we should exercise because it is good for us, but do you know just how good?

Let me be the first to point out to you that physical activity not only helps remedy medical difficulties, but it also can prevent many of those same problems from occurring.

Let's review the benefits of exercise, and then you can decide what is stopping YOU from getting started today!

Exercise lowers our heart rate. The heart is a muscle. Regular aerobic exercise strengthens that muscle so that your heart pumps blood more efficiently by pumping more blood with each beat. Since the exercised heart is more efficient, it transfers more oxygen to the body's cells more easily. This in essence can lengthen your life by several years.
Exercise reduces the risk of heart disease. It reduces clotting in the blood, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. Those who do not exercise can run twice the risk of developing heart disease.
Exercise reduces the risk of stroke, lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of colon cancer and helps regulate the digestive system.
Exercise promotes strong and healthy bones. It increases circulation and flow of nutrients to the bones, reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Exercise leads to a stronger circulatory system and lungs, better skin tone and helps keep skin more elastic.
Exercise increases the body's metabolism. (The rate at which the body burns calories)and it increase muscle which helps burn fat thus making it essential to healthy weight loss and maintenance.
Exercise controls blood sugar and cholesterol. Physical activity helps maintain the body's glucose levels, important especially for diabetics or those at risk for diabetes. It also increases the ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL) and also lowers triglycerides.
Exercise helps with pain tolerance and makes for easier pregnancy and childbirth. - By increasing the level of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, exercise can help alleviate pain, such as PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps. The deep breathing during exercise brings more oxygen to the blood, which relaxes the uterus.
Exercise controls physical and emotional stress and improves your intellectual capacity. Not only does exercise reduce physical and emotional stress, but it can also alleviate bouts of anxiety or depression. It also increases your productivity by helping to clear your head so you can approach your work refreshed and able to concentrate.
Exercise promotes flexibility and reduces backaches. Stretching exercises help elongate muscles, thus promoting flexibility and also reducing backaches.
Exercise promotes a younger and healthier body and prolongs independence for the older person. We spend way too much money every year trying to maintain a healthy and younger body when simple regular physical activity can also slow the aging process.
Exercise strengthens immune system and regulates your body's waste system. We are less likely to get sick or constipated when we exercise regularly. Daily activity relieves constipation by increasing intestinal activity and curbs bloating by increasing perspiration.
Exercise improves your sleep and gives you more energy. Since your muscles are less tense, you relax more easily at night. You fall asleep more quickly, sleep more soundly, and awake more refreshed and energized.
Exercise leads to better health and gives us an overall sense of well being. Daily activity allows us to be happier and more upbeat. It boosts our self-confidence by improving our strength, stamina, flexibility, appearance, and our sense of self-control

Do women get the same benefits from exercise as men?

Women may benefit more so than men from being physically fit. It is possible for women to reduce the rates of death from heart disease if they are more physically fit than men and if they include regular activity in their lives.

Women who don't exercise have twice the chance of dying from heart disease compared to women who do exercise, just as women who smoke double their chances of dying from heart disease compared to women who don't smoke.

Women may live longer than men, but they don't necessarily live better.

Fitness for Older Women

Elderly women who haven't been physically active experience more disability in their daily function than women who've been active.

It's true that if you do less and less exercise or sport as you get older, it can catch up to you and you will pay for it considerably in the long run so why not make today the time for you to begin keeping yourself fit?

If you stay strong and mobile into old age, you can protect yourself from all sorts of medical problems, from falls and broken bones, to heart disease and lung disease.

Think you're too old? No way, even into your 80's and 90's the body remains remarkably responsive to exercise and with time will adapt to what you train it to do.

It's never too late to start being active even if it's just a simply walk 2-3 times a week or starting a new beginners program at the nearest fitness center.

Most fitness facilities these days have many older people among their members with specific programs for you. Just find an activity you enjoy, persuade a friend to share the fun and away you go!

Be sure to talk to your doctor first to check if there are no potential problems with your new exercise regime and do make your fitness instructor aware of any medical conditions or risks that need to be addressed as well.

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Exercise Tips For Women

Do women get the same benefits from exercise as men?

Fitness for Older Women