If you want to improve your overall health and fitness, you can’t go wrong with getting on a regular exercise routine. It has been proven that exercising regularly provides numerous physical and mental benefits. Thus, if your goal is to stick to a healthy lifestyle, you need to make exercise a regular part of your daily life.
Exercising is something that anyone can do easily. And you don’t need to do anything complex either. As long as your body is in constant motion for a good period of time, you can benefit from the physical exertion. When you’re regularly engaged in physical activity, you’re helping your body burn extra calories. The result? You’ll be mentally and physically fit soon enough.
So how exactly does your body benefit from exercise? Exercise tones your muscles, getting you into perfect shape. It promotes stronger muscles, as well as improves your endurance and agility in performing many physical tasks. Athletes in particular need to be constantly exercising not just to improve their fitness level, but their athletic performance as well. Exercise also promotes weight loss and keeps the body in good shape. People who regularly exercise also tend to have more of a sunny disposition.
- A Marine of the United States Marine Corps runs through a creek. Original caption: “Lance Cpl. Anthony M. Madonia emerges from the water during the swimming portion of the triathlon. Marines and Sailors of Marine Security Company and the Naval Support Facility in Thurmont, Md., participated in the Catoctin Mountain Triathlon, July 20.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
How Exercise Affects the Circulatory System
When you exercise, your body’s internal processes are affected by the change in your activity level. In order for your organs to work normally, your body needs to respond to those changes. This response is known as “homeostasis”. As homeostasis occurs in your body, a variety of responses happen in your circulatory, respiratory, and muscular systems.
When you exercise, your heart works harder to send blood throughout. Your body releases adrenaline before and during exercise, causing your heart rate to increase. As you do more strenuous exercises, the oxygen levels in your blood go down, causing increase diffusion in your lungs. What this means is that your lungs are producing more carbon dioxide. The increased carbon dioxide and lactic acid production, as well as the raised body temperature causes your heart to work faster. As a result, oxygen and other nutrients are delivered throughout your body much faster while you’re exercising. Exercise also triggers vasodilation and vasoconstriction processes in your body, causing blood to flow more efficiently to those organs that require blood.
How Exercise Affects the Respiratory System
When you exercise, your body increases its need to breathe in air. It’s because your lungs produce carbon dioxide at a faster rate. Your respiratory system’s response is to improve your rate of breathing. In order for your body to adjust to the changes occurring during exercise, it needs its intercostal muscles like the diaphragm to exert more effort and allow your thoracic cavity to expand as you inhale for more air.
How Exercise Affects the Muscular System
When you exercise, your body uses up a lot more energy than it usually uses when you’re at rest. The body’s supply of energy gradually diminishes, leading to faster metabolism. Your body has myoglobin, which is responsible for the release of stored oxygen. This stored oxygen is what your body needs in order to perform strenuous physical activities. The more strenuous the exercise you do, the more that your muscles will continue to burn energy even after you have finished exercising.
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Interesting post. Exercise seems to not only help in strengthening and toning your muscles, but increasing endurance by putting your body through homeostasis in a healthy manner.