If you’ve ever wondered what else there is to fitness than exercise, this article is for you. In this article, we’ll take you through 37 exciting fitness facts that’ll get you pumped up and eager to exercise. Let’s go!
What Is Fitness?
Fitness is the state of well-being and health that defines a person’s ability to perform their day-to-day activities, deal with fatigue, handle stress, and manage illnesses. It can also be called physical fitness and can be improved through proper nutrition, fitness exercises, and adequate rest.
Types of Fitness Exercises
There are four types of fitness exercises. Each of them contributes to a person’s exercise routine and can be included in an individual’s workout routine or adjusted to fit their fitness goals. Let’s examine them briefly.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercises are physical activities that include heart rate and breathing. They strengthen the heart and lungs and help the cardiovascular system deliver oxygen throughout the body adequately and efficiently. Aerobic exercises include walking, running on a treadmill, cycling, and swimming.
Aerobic fitness has countless benefits. It:
- relaxes the blood vessels
- lowers blood pressure
- helps to burn calories and shed excess body fat
- reduces blood sugar levels
- reduces anxiety
- helps to build muscle strength
- improves mood and mental health
- reduces asthma symptoms
Aerobics also helps reduce the risk of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, and some types of cancer.
Strength Training
This type of fitness exercise is more intense because it’s an anaerobic exercise where the body burns fat and calories without oxygen. Strength training exercises are high-intensity interval trainings that involve strenuous activities like weight lifting, bench presses, hip thrusts, and squats. Strength training burns more fat than other types of fitness exercises.
Its benefits include building muscle, bone growth, lowered blood sugar, weight loss, improved balance and posture, lower stress levels, and reduced pain in the lower back and joints.
Flexibility
Flexibility involves stretches and other exercises that improve a person’s range of movement, blood flow, and muscle elasticity. Popular flexibility exercises help to reduce the risk of injury, especially in people who exercise regularly.
Yoga and Pilates are excellent flexibility practices. They are both low-intensity interval trainings that are great options to exercise regularly. They are also beginner-friendly.
Endurance
Endurance training involves repetitions of low-intensity workouts, which help to improve muscle stamina and endurance.
Fun Fitness Facts
Now that you know what exercise is and what it entails, let’s move on to exciting exercise facts!
1. Cardio alone cannot make you lose weight
Doing cardio and aerobics alone can make weight loss harder. This is because using cardio alone for weight loss can burn muscle tissue, which you need to burn fat even when you’re at rest. Add strength training to your cardio and workout routine to help you build muscle tissue and lose fat faster.
2. Underwater swimming is the only exercise you hold your breath for
Other swimming techniques such as breaststroke and butterfly stroke give you gaps to breathe before going under again. In backstroke, your face is almost always above water. But, you have to hold your breath to swim underwater.
3. It takes up to eight weeks before your body adjusts to an exercise program
This means that you have to put in the work and wait patiently to see results!
4. Being dehydrated reduces exercise performance
Dehydration reduces the body’s ability to regulate heat, which can increase your heart rate and temperature and make you feel tired during exercise. So, make drinking water a part of your exercise routine.
5. Your body burns 50 more calories every day for every pound of muscle gained
It’s a win-win situation: the more calories you burn, the more muscle mass you gain.
6. Regular exercise helps to reduce symptoms of anxiety
During exercise, endorphins are released into your body which helps you feel calmer and more at ease. This feeling extends well after your exercise and can help you cope better with your anxiety.
7. People who exercise regularly tend to be in a better mood
Exercise improves your mood, reduces symptoms of depression and stress, and improves your self-esteem in the long run. It takes care of your mental health as much as your physical fitness.
8. After the age of 30, people lose 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade
Sounds scary, but it can be prevented if you start exercising today. Walking is an excellent form of exercise, so get moving!
9. Exercising for as little as ten minutes will make all the difference
A ten-minute exercise of running or jogging will raise your heart rate and maintain your physical fitness levels.
10. People are more likely to reach their fitness goals when they have a gym partner
Having a partner who has the same exercise routine and fitness goals motivates people to stick to their program and achieve their goals. They also provide emotional support when the going gets tough. If you need motivation and an accountability partner, get yourself a gym friend!
11. Rest days are important to allow your body to heal and improve
Working out every day is not advisable because you’ll only wear your body out and gain nothing. Rest days help your body work on the progress you’ve made and recover from the exertion.
12. Your immune system gets a boost when you regularly exercise
Exercise strengthens the immune system by stimulating cellular immunity. This means that you become less vulnerable to illness and suffer less severe allergic reactions.
13. Exercise helps to maintain a healthy body weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is essential and can be achieved by regular exercise and a healthy diet. Exercise helps in losing and maintaining weight by helping you get rid of unwanted and unnecessary calories.
14. Music + Workout = Ultimate combo
Listening to music while exercising can help motivate you, increase your energy levels and improve your exercise performance by up to 15%.
15. Keeping fit improves your cardiovascular health
Performing a physical activity that gets your heart pumping will improve your cardiovascular health by strengthening the muscles in your heart. This lowers the risk of heart disease, cardiac arrest, and hypertension.
16. In the USA alone, 84 million people use a fitness app to keep track of their progress
Many people are dedicated to keeping fit. Kudos to them! And you should consider joining them.
17. The age group, 18-34, is most likely to exercise.
People between the ages of 18-35 are more likely to exercise regularly than people beyond the age bracket. Statistics have shown that these people exercise at least three times a week.
18. While sleeping, the average person burns up to 50 calories per hour
Looks like sleep can also be part of an exercise routine!
19. In America, 80% of people who have a gym membership do not use it
Well, that’s disappointing. Stop wasting your gym memberships! Use them, stick to your exercise routine, keep your body fit, and embrace good health.
20. For each step you take, you use about 200 muscles
Exercising tones all these muscles, putting a spring in your step, literally.
21. Only 10% of people are able to undergo weight loss by dieting alone
It’s simple: a healthy diet and a fitting exercise routine go hand-in-hand in helping you shed loose skin and fat successfully.
22. 25% of adults are not physically active
This could be changed by participating in light physical activity such as walking the dog, gardening, dancing, or washing the car rather than taking it to the car wash. Little lifestyle changes like these have positive effects on one’s quality of life.
23. An average person walks about 75,000 miles by the age of 50
That’s a lot of miles!
24. Your heart is the strongest muscle in your body
As a result of their crucial yet unique functions, the muscles of your heart (cardiac muscles) are the strongest in your body. They pump almost 2000 gallons of blood per day!
25. Your calf muscle generates the most pulling force in your body
The soleus muscle in your calf generates the most pull force, allowing you to stand up and walk with ease. This is why you shouldn’t miss leg day at the gym.
26. Your ‘core’ is a group of muscles made up of muscles that attach to your ribs, spine, and pelvis
Strengthening muscles by doing core exercises and lifting weights will have a positive effect on your physical health and overall well-being.
27. You can’t get a flat tummy by doing crunches alone
To shed fat around your midsection, doing crunches together with cardio exercises gives the best results!
28. Gardening is a good way to build strength in your body
If going to the gym doesn’t appeal to you, make good use of your backyard! Tend to your garden, increase your physical activity, and live a healthier life.
29. Working out on an empty stomach is bad
When you exercise without eating well, you’ll end up burning energy and losing stamina. You may even end up feeling dizzy, nauseous, or lightheaded. To avoid that, revitalize yourself and store more energy by eating before beginning your exercise routine, even if it’s just an apple or a few bananas.
30. Regular exercise can help to clear up the skin
Sweating pushes out dirt through your pores, and a shower after a workout washes it all away. This means reduced acne and breakouts. Plus, all the water you take works wonders too! Want clearer skin? Exercise!
31. People who cross train are less likely to get injured during physical activity
To cross train means performing a wide variety of exercises. People who cross-train are often fitter and less vulnerable to injuries that those who train using a few exercise modalities.
32. Children with physically active parents tend to exercise more and live a healthy life
Parents serve as role models to their children when they work out and live healthy lives. This is important to raise a generation that would live in good health and stay physically active.
33. Losing weight does not mean you are physically fit
Contrary to popular belief, losing weight does not equal physical fitness. Physical fitness encompasses a lot of things: a healthy body weight, the ability to perform everyday tasks, muscle strength, fat loss, and good sleep, amongst others. Losing too much weight can be bad for your health.
34. Women tend to have less muscle mass than men
This is due to the genetic difference between men and women. As a result, men will look bulkier than women, having up to two-thirds more muscle mass than women.
35. Walking is the most common exercise in America
More than any other type or form of exercise routine, the average person walks and jogs, burning calories while engaging in their everyday activities.
36. Taking a brisk walk burns the same amount of calories as jogging the same distance
This means that you can reap the same benefits from jogging by walking, and it also fulfills your quota of physical activity.
37. It takes about three months of sticking to an exercise routine to see measurable changes in your body
Rome was not built in a day, and neither are your muscles. So, whatever results you want to get from exercising, put in the work and stay consistent. You’ll see the results in time.
Knowing these fitness facts will help you stick to your workout plan and improve your overall health. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about hair, skin, or general well-being.
