How to Supercharge Your Energy Levels through Exercise

Your energy levels will depend on several factors, including genetics, nutrition, sleep habits, and emotional stress. Some of these you have no control over But there is one VERY important factor that you do have control over and that is your ability to take part in physical exercise.

Need a source of vast power and energy?

Look no further than your gym.

The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.

If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary, every-day fatigue.

* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *

Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.

Experts point out another long-term cause-and-effect relationship between exercise and blood flow to the brain: as you continue exercising, the number of capillaries (small blood vessels between your arteries and veins) throughout your body will grow. More blood flow through your "pipes" means more oxygen will be supplied where you need it.

Regular exercise also keeps the pipes clear and circulation healthy by preventing atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque). Regular exercise can actually REVERSE atherosclerosis when combined with a healthy nutrition plan. When you have atherosclerosis in check, your brain is virtually guaranteed for the rest of your life.

Blood also carries glucose, the simple sugar that's the primary fuel source for your entire nervous system of which the brain is the command center. Glucose's production starts the metabolism of carbohydrates. Various enzymes, plus your body's ability to use glucose to produce ATP, the more important energy chemical in the body, control this production. When you exercise, you increase the level of those enzymes and their activity.

In other words, when you exercise regularly, you boost your enzymes, resulting in more glucose, and your body is more efficient in using the glucose. You get a larger supply of ATP, which helps fight off the mid-afternoon energy drop-off.

* Increase Metabolism *

It's no secret that strength trainers are firmer and stronger than sedentary folks. How could it be otherwise?

Resistance exercise builds muscle, pure and simple. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you burn even at rest.

So why does "strong and toned" equate to more energy?

For starters, heavy people have to lug around more weight all day long. When the overweight climbs a flight of stairs, do yard work, or even just carrying the garbage can to the curb, they're also carrying that excess weight, making almost everything they do more exhausting.

Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.

A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent research has shed light on why the strong may get sick less often and recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases the activity of natural killer cells in the bloodstream.

* Less Stress *

A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of the most effective means of battling depression and stress. One of the main fatiguing factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than they had before becoming active.

* Boost Brain Fitness *

To this point, we've been talking about the benefit of exercise on mental energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory, or reasoning ability? It's very possible.

Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were contributing to the increase of the brain's learning centers in different ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while exercise increases the number of capillaries in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex (two areas of the brain crucial to intelligence.)

* Take a Walk *

Medical research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.

Recent studies have concluded that moderate amounts of exercise - including walking, jogging or using a treadmill for one hour, four to five times a week - can turn back the aging clock 30 years for middle aged men.

Consistency is probably the most important part of your workout. The more committed you are to walking all or most days of the week, the healthier you'll be. Remember that short walks are better then none at all. Health, like life, is a journey. All you have to do is take the first step.

About The Author

Paul Reeve is a Personal Trainer responsible for training individuals one-on-one and assisting them in achieving their health and fitness goals and providing them with guidance, support and motivation. Presenter and lecturer for Fitness Professionals, Sports Organizations, Sport Coaches, Corporate and Community Organizations. Webmaster for http://www.treadmilladviser.com - providing informed advice on exercise treadmills.

---

Online Fitness Coaching

If I were to tell you that you could burn... Read More

Your Guide to Joining the Right Gym

Whether you want to look good on the beach this... Read More

Physical Activity Versus Exercise: Is there a Difference?

Quite often a client will come into the gym discouraged... Read More

The Benefit of Back Exercises

Back exercises are often prescribed effectively as an alternative to... Read More

Salsa Dancing for Fitness is Hot

Salsa dancing is emerging as a refreshing replacement for conventional... Read More

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a system of over 500 controlled exercises that... Read More

Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Exercising the Abdominals

The abdominal muscles are essential for maintaining good posture and... Read More

Why Core is Key

Do you currently suffer or have you ever suffered from... Read More

Exercising In Heat

Summer is officially here. Finally you can pack away your... Read More

Lance Armstrong, Exercise, and Will Power? Characteristics that Make a Champion!

The Tour De France, arguably may be the hardest sport... Read More

Exercise Intensity

"Physical Fitness"Some physical activities (exercise) are not intense enough to... Read More

The Truth about Spot Reduction

At any point, we can pick up the latest fitness... Read More

Lose Weight - Stay Fit and Stick With It!

Health and nutrition experts continually advise us that the more... Read More

The Fundamentals of Pilates

There are people who are fond of getting an exercise... Read More

10 Workout Mistakes Cheaters Make

"When I'm lifting free weights, I tend to go pretty... Read More

Strength Training After Fifty

Strength training after fifty is no longer for those people... Read More

Elements of Exercise

Warm upWarming up before exercising has physiological and psychological benefits.... Read More

The History of Pilates ? It All Began With One Sickly Child

A look into the history of Pilates helps you understand... Read More

Warming Up Properly

In our 'Stretching' article series , we discussed why it's... Read More

3 Exercises for Good Posture and a Six-Pack

These days many people spend a significant part of their... Read More

Lance Armstrong?s Training Tactics ? The Tortoise or the Hare?

I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency... Read More

Unstable And Proud Of It! Power to the Push-Ups!

When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of... Read More

10 User Friendly Habits for Successful Home Gym Training

Are you dissatisfied with your current training program? Are you... Read More

The Great Forgotten Exercise -- Parallel Bar Dips

When it comes to building lower pectorals, triceps and frontal... Read More

How to Pick a Good Personal Trainer

One of the major benefits of the YourBestBodyNOW Program and... Read More

The Different Types of Treadmills

When we usually think of treadmills, we tend to think... Read More

Use an Exercise Training Diary to Keep Your Workouts on Track

A road map is a very handy tool when you're... Read More

Athletics and Winning

Athletics are pretty cut and dry in one regard; the... Read More

Exercise & Motivation, Part 2: Overcoming Inertia & Getting Started

In the first article in this series (http://tinyurl.com/8ztbo), we gave... Read More

2-Minute Fitness

Why would I want to write about yet another fitness... Read More

Will Your Personal Trainer Help You Achieve Your Goals?

Hiring a personal trainer can be a significant investment ?... Read More

How NOT to Return from an Exercise Break

Several sites, including this one, recommend that you take a... Read More

Best Abdominal Exercises to Get the Sexy Six Pack You Deserve

The key to getting those sexy abdominals lies mainly on... Read More