I was curious to know if working out has any long term effects. I mean other than being fit, thin and active (those are all great but there must be something going on inside). Since picking up running (more like walking at this stage in the game) I have been doing a lot of reading about its lasting effects. The most interesting thing I have found are studies done on people who have early signs of dementia.What has been found is that people who work out on a regular basis are more likely to remain cognizant and less forgetful longer. Now if there ever was a reason to work out more this has got to be it. Everyone has days when you walk in to the house and forget why you went upstairs, that is normal and we joke about it. Can you imagine feeling like that all the time about everything? After reading this article on Scientific America it just made me want to grab my running shoes and get out there.
Perhaps I can use this as my reason for running. So far I have been using it not to lose weight, I am blessed to not have that problem, but to release stress and just be more active. There is a common misconception that has always bothered me when I talk to people about being active. Everyone always thinks that there are two kinds of people in the world. Skinny and fat people, the skinny are active and work for their body figure while the fat are lazy and don't do a thing about it. This is not true, I am actually a very lazy person but I also happen to be very thin. Just because I have a fast metabolism right now does not mean that I will have it forever. I understand that if I don't fix the lazy habit now and just push myself to get out there then one day I will end up gaining weight, and losing my mind (literally).
I was reading the Nexercise blog this afternoon and they had an interesting post about exercise and Alzheimer. They included this image and if you are interested in the full article it can be found here.
There are plenty of other benefits such as faster metabolism, lower blood pressure, better circulation... the list goes on and on. I think the real question is if exercise is such a simple thing to do why doesn't anyone do it?
I have been really happy to see that there are so many apps that have been popping up all over to help motivate more people to get out there and move. Feel free to share what your favorites are.