With discussions on physical activity and exercise gaining more prominence in recent times, many people are confused about how to go about a workout routine suitable for them.
Common questions that people ask include the frequency of exercise, the duration of the workout, and the type of workouts.
Working out daily is one of the most popular as well as suggested options. But how beneficial is it to work out daily? We shall find out now
The benefits of working out daily
Regular exercise has a lot of benefits for your health, with great long term benefits that help us maintain not just physical health, but mental wellness as well. We shall now list out the most important benefits in our opinion, and discuss them in detail
- Increases happiness levels and helps combat depression
Nothing beats the satisfaction of having a good workout incorporated into your daily routine. They help release chemicals in the brain that act as neurotransmitters. These have a big influence on our emotional state.
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that help relieve pain and stress. This is commonly associated with the term “runner’s high”, where the release of endorphins occurs when physical exertion occurs.
Other chemicals like serotonin are released during exercise. Regular exercise can help maintain positive levels of this chemical.
This ensures a general sense of well being as well as improved moods. It can also regulate appetite and sleep cycles, which in turn help combating depression
Regular exercise can benefit you socially as well, as it ensures you meet new people regularly while taking a walk or sharing a dance class, which can stimulate your social life too.
You can read this detailed article which explains this statement.
- Helps to keep chronic disease away
A lack of regular exercise is listed as a major factor contributing to chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. These in turn lead to a reduced quality of life and further health complications.
Daily physical activity can combat a lot of these chronic diseases by regulating levels of sugar, cholesterol, and adrenaline in the body.
Glucose is critical in providing energy to the body. Glucose levels regulated by insulin secreted by the pancreas. Daily exercise increases insulin sensitivity, which helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Adrenaline is a stress hormone that provides us with our fight or flight response. Regular exercise ensures the body produces the right levels of adrenaline. (Source)
- Contributes to weight loss
Our body has three major functions that require energy; digesting food, maintaining body functions, and exercise.
Daily physical exercise increases insulin sensitivity. It not only controls glucose levels but also regulates fat and protein metabolism. This could help combat poor dietary habits which could lead to increased fat levels in the blood.
Regular exercise is also crucial along with dieting for weight loss. This is because dieting reduces calorie intake, but slows down the body’s metabolism as well. On the other hand, regular exercise increases the metabolism rate of the body. (Source)
There are various kinds of exercises that you can do, but now, as you all know, what COVID does, you can still work out from your home by using home gyms, like treadmill, elliptical machine, cycles, or other exercise machines, and Fit Territory makes reviews of some of the amazing machines, you can check out their articles as well.
- Increases energy levels
Regular exercise not only regulates important hormones and brain chemicals in the body but also boosts the metabolism of the body. Metabolism is defined as the chemical reactions that occur in the body. These reactions need energy and are responsible for keeping us alive and functional.
Even simple physical activity like walking or stretching can increase metabolism if done daily.
This means while the activity of your choice may not be the most intense and tiring, a regular routine of doing the activity would ensure you burn more calories and fat, which ensures a more fit and healthy lifestyle. (Source)
- Benefits muscles and bones
Regular exercise can combine well with a regular intake of protein, which can help to build muscle. The production of hormones is increased, which results in an increased ability for the muscles to absorb amino acids, which facilitates growth and slows down the breakdown.
This also helps the muscle maintain strength, especially in older age groups. An increased metabolism can also assist in the repair and rebuilding of injured muscles, helping them recover faster.
Regular activity at a young age helps build bone-density and slow down the onset of osteoporosis during the later stages of your life.
Drawbacks of working out regularly
While working out daily has its many positives, there are also a few reasons why working out daily is not the option chosen by most fitness freaks and wellness enthusiasts. We list these reasons in detail below, as it is important for you to be aware of the pros and cons of daily exercise.
- Reduced recovery time
Muscles need enough time to recover, especially after periods of moderate to high intensity, which we experience during workouts.
Daily exercise means the muscles do not get enough to recover from the stress of the workout, especially if the intensity of the exercise is very high.
The muscles will not be able to repair torn fibers and build new muscle, and over a period of time, this will make the workout very ineffective despite being regular.
- Stagnated growth in exercising goals
Exercising daily without any rest will accelerate your growth and physical fitness initially as it forces the body to adapt to the regular stress of a workout.
Once the initial period has been crossed, more often than not, there will be a plateau in the improvement of your physical fitness parameters such as muscle mass, stamina, and so on. This is primarily because of the lack of rest.
Over long periods, it tends to weaken the muscle’s overall performance. This leads to ineffective workouts and also increases the risk of severe injury as complete muscle failure becomes a higher risk.
- Lose motivation and enthusiasm
If you are new to working out and determined to improve your stamina or lose that extra weight you put on during your vacation, then you are raring to hit the gym or get in some physical exercise every day.
As time progresses, the initial gains help you keep up the enthusiasm and motivate you further. However, when the gains start plateauing, then many fitness trainers notice a considerable drop in the motivation and enthusiasm of their clients.
This could lead to a complete stop in physical exercise, which can unwind all the effort put in and result in harmful consequences.
Conclusion
Working out daily is a hugely beneficial practice that is very effective in maintaining physical and mental fitness.
It is hugely linked with keeping depression away, increasing happiness levels, and promoting the social wellness of an individual.
Physical benefits include accelerated weight loss, regulated cholesterol, and energy levels.
It is also essential to keep away chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. By boosting metabolism rates, it also helps build muscle and increases bone density.
On the other hand, daily exercise can lead to reduced recovery times for muscles, which drastically increases the risk of serious injury. It also contributes to loss of motivation and enthusiasm because of stagnation in improving physical fitness.
We would recommend workouts like cardio or light intensity training for those looking to have a daily dose of physical exercise.
If weight and resistance training or HIIT is your choice of workout, we would advise you to schedule enough rest between workouts to ensure you give your body enough time to recover and rejuvenate itself.