Let's talk the AMAZING benefits of frequent exercise

LabRat529

Let's really take a look at exercise, shall we? I'll tell you what I know about it. I'm a neuroscientist with an strong back ground in human physiology, cell biology, biochemistry, and the mechanisms of drug actions in the human system. I will stick to the brain, to a little basic cell biology, a little basic info about aging, and then I'll talk about my experience with exercise. I'm going to be brief because I have a long day ahead of me, but in light of one thread (judging on title alone- I didn't read it.), I felt it critical for me to get this out there. Why? Because many lack education about the human body and it makes me sick to think they might read the title, read the first post, and stop exercising and that choice could damage their health long term. So please consider the following before you cut exercise out of your life.

First... the brain. Exercise is strongly linked to better cognitive function as we age. Why/how? We don't know... but the correlation is strong enough that I feel safe saying that exercise helps the brain (and yes, I know correlation does not equal causation). Individuals who exercise regularly are less likely to develop disorders of the brain like Alzheimer's disease. Perhaps more importantly, stress is a problem when we talk neurofunction, and exercise is an incredible reliever of stress.

Second... cell biology specifically as it relates to the use of glucose and response to insulin. Insulin triggers a critical change in cells... it upregulates glucose transporters and other insulin responsive enzymes. What does upregulate mean? Well... it can mean a lot of things, but in the case of insulin, it causes transporters to move from inside the cell where they're doing nothing to the cell membrane where they can shuttle glucose from the blood into the cell where it can be used for energy. When the system "breaks" and we become insulin resistant, the cells stop responding to insulin as well as they used to. The don't upregulate those transporters that well and glucose gets stuck outside the cell where it's useless. In response, the body releases more insulin in a desperate attempt to counteract the insulin resistance... this can go on for years without us even noticing a problem... eventually, though, the system becomes so broken that we start noticing the symptoms of diabetes...

Exercise can work-around this broken system and more importantly, it can prevent the system from breaking in the first place. How? There are probably dozens of ways and I don't know all of them, but one way that it does this is by upregulating a completely different type of glucose transporter than the one that's activated by insulin. This transporter is independent of the insulin sensitive transporter, but it does the same job... it gets glucose inside the cells where it can be used.

Exercise is one of the best things a diabetic or insulin sensitive person can do.

What about aging? Well, again, there are a host of benefits to exercise when it comes to aging, but one of the biggest (for men and women) is it counters the effects of normal hormone loss. Like it or not, estrogen and testosterone levels drop as you age. When you lose those hormones (especially testosterone), you lose muscle mass. You grow weak. And if you're thinking 'oh well... so I what if I can't lift 100 lbs anymore, who cares? Remember: your muscles support your spine, your joints, etc... loss muscle mass results not just in loss of physical lifting prowess, but in lost ability to walk normally, to stand up straight, and so on. I've experienced first hand the pain that comes with weak muscles. I've been working for months to balance the muscles in legs, back, and abs to alleviate the chronic pain I experience in my lower back and hips.

And so now for me personally? I feel INCREDIBLE after a work out. I'm energized, I'm happy. The happy is a huge thing since I struggle with depression. It helps manage my stress levels. And the pain in my hips and back has changed from nearly debilitating to being just a minor annoyance. I can now go hiking! OH how I missed hiking!!!!!!! I haven't gone in years because it HURT TOO MUCH. I have EXERCISE to thank for that.

Add to all this that exercise helps me maintain a calorie deficit- and I say I'm a true convert to the doctrine of regular exercise.

I won't have time to respond to this thread except maybe at lunch and tonight when I get home... but I hope (probably in vain) that this thread will spawn some good, positive discussion about the benefits of exercise and that it will not turn into another anti-insulin, anti-carb vs. the rest of us war.

RobynC79

Awesome.. I was tempted to post a thread called 'Lack of critical thinking, slavish quoting of websites selling miracle cures, along with studious ignorance of peer-reviewed science and writing of incoherent rambling posts, will make you fat'. But yours is undoubtedly more useful...

BTW, there's another thread in the chit-chat forum on improved 'bedroom-related' performance after hard exercise. So that's another one in the 'pro column'.

Sorova

Regular physical activity, done safely and sensibly? Now there's a crazy fad I can get behind! ;-)

Aperture_Science

Brilliant post.

Jorra

This needs to be bumped over and over again. You are the best, dear.

jenniebean1680

Awesome.. I was tempted to post a thread called 'Lack of critical thinking, slavish quoting of websites selling miracle cures, along with studious ignorance of peer-reviewed science and writing of incoherent rambling posts, will make you fat'. But yours is undoubtedly more useful...

Love it!

And I love the topic.

My life without exercise, without training and the benefits (mental, emotional, social, and physical) that come with it, would be pretty joyless. Spinning brought me amazing friends. Running taught me to revel in solitude and my own perseverance. Lifting taught me that I am strong (not just for a woman) and that strong is sexy.

And sure, it helped me lose weight, and continues to do so.

But it's more than that. I lost my mom to cancer on June 8th, 2011. She fought for 2 years, tooth and claw. The level of tenacity that she showed was something beyond anything I'd ever witnessed, and it was beautiful. Somehow in that 2 years, dealing with the fear and worry for my mom, and feeling helpless, I found myself doing more with my body. I had been running 1 half-marathon a year, and some shorter races here and there, and took a few classes at the gym. In the year before her passing, I discovered I had pushed myself so much further physically than I ever thought I would/could. I had become a spinning instructor, where I now have a following, and have made many new friends. I now run several (4-5) half marathons a year. I did the Ragnar Relay New England last May. In March I started a fundraiser for American Cancer Society, and though Mom passed away, still ran the race (another half) in August. It was in her memory instead of in her honor, as I had planned. I was the top fundraiser for the event, and I set a PR (thanks, Mom!). I am toying w/ the idea of a full marathon this year.

I guess my point in all this rambling is this: seeing Mom fight something so huge, so sinister, and so pervasive, and do it without question, triggered something in me. I wanted to show her that she didn't have to worry about me, her only child and best friend. So I pushed myself. I loved sharing my stories of training runs, budding spinning instructor classes, races, lifting, weight loss. They gave us something other than her pain or nausea or weakness to talk about. I felt like I took her with me on every run. I always told her I was sending the endorphins her way. Somehow, it felt like we were fighting side-by-side. Sure, I was helpless, but I embraced my own need to dig in and really push my limits, to revel in the knowledge that I COULD, when Mom couldn't. And the endorphins and friends and fresh air and sweat that I reaped as a result was my therapy.

I am struggling quite a bit with her loss, but my training is still my solace.

"Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach" - The Late (Great) Dr. George Sheehan.

And that, dear friends, is something no study on rats w/ ovaries removed, no research findings on carbohydrate's effects on insulin, and no statistic on some rambling, nonsensical, elitist forum topic can take away from us.

BOOM.

jenniebean1680

also: bumpity bump.

lacewitch

brilliant to see some real science. as a scientst (nano-chemistry) I love diet and beauty science but mostly for amusement.
thanks for thus

MaggiePuccini

Great post!

And on a purely personal level, I never get headaches when I exercise regularly and I never get period pain either.

jenkinsjerry

I learned from Zig Ziglar, who learned it from Kenneth Cooper from the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX, that cardiovascular excercise releases our body's endorphins and that our endorphins (or a series of neurotransmitters), when released provide a much better antidote to depression than ANY depression medicine. Yep, scientific rigor proved that regular exercise can help anyone who struggles with depression, and doesn't involve any of the nasty side effects that most antidepressants do -- namely thoughts of suicide, which is bizarre that one would take something for depression that actually introduces even worse thoughts?

Call it the "runner's high", but I'll take 60 minutes of zone 3-4 over a script from the local Psychiatrist, every single time... And 7xs per week seems to be the right dosage, for me.

Mamaincali

This is a great post! I posted this morning about whats the point to exercise? Because there are many like me who are uneducated about the benefits of exercise. For most of my life I was told you need to exercise to lose weight. Then I come here and find out that you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Talk about confusing! But today I have learned that exercise is much more than just losing weight, its for your health. You can lose weight without exercise but you will be an unhealthy skinny flabby person. That is what I have learned today and I'd much rather exercise to improve my health and help tone my body as I lose weight than feel forced to have to exercise as the only option for losing weight. I happily went on my walk at lunch time today! I am thankful for my post today. My walk didn't feel like a chore but instead it felt great that I was doing something I wanted to do for my health.

Shanphichloe

I actually read the whole topic, why? Because it made sense! Very interesting points and I hope it motivates the ones that do not think exercise should be a priority in their lives.

kitkat4141

Exercise is the best drug known to man.

TIFnFIT

I recommend the book SPARK by Ratey. I'm reading it now and it talks about just this with some pretty cool and remarkable transformations on our YOUTH when FITNESS is taught in school (as opposed to "gym class")! Thanks for this post!

1HappyRosie

Thank you honestly for posting. I wish more professionals would add useful information to sites that are truely helping people. People that can and want to help themselves, but might not be able to afford to get it anywhere else. I definately appreciate your knowledge and help.

brandiuntz

Nothing to add to the post. Just a big thanks for the excellent information.

miamime

That was so interesting and informative! Thank you!

LabRat529

This is a great post! I posted this morning about whats the point to exercise? Because there are many like me who are uneducated about the benefits of exercise. For most of my life I was told you need to exercise to lose weight. Then I come here and find out that you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Talk about confusing! But today I have learned that exercise is much more than just losing weight, its for your health. You can lose weight without exercise but you will be an unhealthy skinny flabby person. That is what I have learned today and I'd much rather exercise to improve my health and help tone my body as I lose weight than feel forced to have to exercise as the only option for losing weight. I happily went on my walk at lunch time today! I am thankful for my post today. My walk didn't feel like a chore but instead it felt great that I was doing something I wanted to do for my health.

I am so glad you found this post then. You (and others like you) are exactly the reason that I wrote this. This whole diet/exercise thing can be so frustrating and confusing. I hate that some people make it even more confusing

By the way, I did see your post and I was going comment on it, but the day got away from me, so I really am very glad you stumbled on this one.

LabRat529

Also, thank you all for your contributions. Jennybean, your story was especially touching. I had a friend who started training/running marathons after losing her daughter. She also found it very helpful for managing grief.

swellen

Thanks for this post. I watched a clip the other day (from a doctor) that said exercise is the single best thing we can do for ourselves/our health. It was really interesting... here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo&feature=share

Shanphichloe

Bump

Silverkittycat

Excellent post.

LabRat529

Bumping my own post. Yes, I'm that lame :P

But I feel absolutely fantastic today after a wonderful workout yesterday.

FatUncleRob

Bumping my own post.

Well worth bumping!

But I feel absolutely fantastic today after a wonderful workout yesterday.

Glad to hear that you're still feeling good.

fiberartist219

I was told last week by a health coach that exercise raises your HDL(good cholesterol) if it's low.

I have always hated exercise and I rarely if ever get the energized and happy feeling that other people describe, but I am starting to learn new things about my body from it, and if nothing else, you lose whatever abilities you don't use.

Bottom line, if you don't exercise, you will become weak. Being weak sucks.

Pebble321

Thanks for such a great summary of the science behind why running makes me feel good, and why gettingnphysicallystonger makes me feel stronger and more able to cope with every other aspect of my life.

And Jenniebean, thank you especially for your story, mine is similar in some ways. I lost my mum to cancer last year and running was the key for me to coping with all the emotions around that - everything from stress and sadness and grief and anger to feeling priveledged and loving and relieved. Running seems to be the release valve that lets me let go of those emotions and be ready to make it through another day.

Long live exercise!!