Your favourite benefits of exercise?

2

Replies

  • RollTideHusker
    RollTideHusker Posts: 231 Member
    It helps to keep me motivated.

    I feel better, in general. I have a few aches & pains still, but it’s nothing like how I used to hurt.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,707 Member
    My favourite benefit is ... sleep.


    When I'm a little bit out of shape, I sleep like a log when I've had more than an hour's exercise in a day.

    When I'm in better shape, I sleep like a log when I've had 2 or 3 hours of exercise in a day.

    When I'm in really good shape, I sleep like a log when I've had 5 or 6 hours of exercise in a day.

    It's great!! I get these really deep, restful night's sleep when I exercise. :)
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    My favourite benefit is ... sleep.

    YAAAAS.

    Apparently, I've had ADHD all my life and a shortage of dopamine keeps me from getting deep sleep. Before they put me on adderall (To help me sleep. Because of course that's how I work. >_<), about 5-6 hours of cardio could put me down for a restful sleep.

    Now I have a "quick" fix for days when I don't have time to move like I'd prefer, but the deep sleep of cardio is so much more satisfying than the sudden crash shut-down of adderall.

    I've found a "happy medium" between the two, slightly reducing my cardio to only a couple hours per day and boosting with a smidge (I'm on a child's dose.) of store-bought. ("If you can't make your own, store-bought is fine.")
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    Recognizing that this is a zombie thread, my favorite things about running:

    - First, the easy one: it's something my body can do now that I used to think was impossible.
    - Second, the one that's going to make me sound nuts, unless you do it too: Do you ever play out imaginary conversations in your head? You know, arguments that you want to start but never actually will...comebacks you didn't think of...that sort of thing...well, apparently my brain likes to filter through all of that stuff during a run. I guess it's good for my mental health to get it all out.

    Ooh, totally.

    It helps get all the emotional arguments out of the way by imagining those replies you'll get in return, and then hone a better, more nuanced "comeback".

    Very zen. :smile:
  • kdhaile
    kdhaile Posts: 26 Member
    Gives me a stress release. I can take sometime for myself to either hit the weights or run on a machine really seems to calm me down and release stress.
  • bearly63
    bearly63 Posts: 734 Member
    I love the mental effects! I feel so much better about life in general after a good run outside, at my favorite place. Must be the endorphins...the best drug ever! Even if I only burn a few calories, I feel better about myself. And I know that it will add years to my life! B)
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I like the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. I like the way my body feels. I like that it reduces my anxiety.

    I’m still not a person who looks forward to a workout but I never regret doing my workouts.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Avoiding the permanent move to an assisted living facility for as long as possible.

    Yes, my OH's sedentary mother had to go to a nursing home when she could no longer get on and off the toilet unassisted.

    My mom is active, and if she has to go to a nursing home prematurely it will be from something like falling off the ladder while cleaning gutters (which I have been begging her for years to stop doing >.< )

    Regular exercise is crucial to my mental health.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    Strange, but I am not even sure that I can answer this question. Exercise has become so much of a part of my life that I am completely lost without it. I can't even quantify the benefits because if I am unable to exercise, it's like a part of me is missing.

    Yes, I start to feel anxious if I postpone lunch, which is when I regularly exercise.