We all have heard that health is wealth but how many of us treasure this wealth by maintaining a routine where physical exercises are prioritized? The number will certainly be lower, especially in the case of women.
What stops most women from taking the initiative to make exercise an essential part of their routine? “Exercise is not important for women”– this gender stereotype is one of the key reasons for women not taking the dare to be as active in case of doing physical exercises as man does. Even if gender stereotyping is a key cause, some of the other causes of women not doing physical exercise may include parental duties, lack of energy, demotivation of society, overburdened household work, and so forth.
Why Exercise is Needed for Women?
Maintaining Hormonal Balance:
Doing physical exercises regularly can help women to reduce the symptoms of hormonal imbalance, especially during premenstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms.
Improving Cardiovascular Health:
Women can get greater cardiovascular benefits by exercising compared to men. Studies suggest that around 140 minutes of moderate aerobic exercises each week can lessen the death risk of women by 18%.
Managing Chronic Diseases:
Regular physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases like Heart disease, Diabetes, Osteoporosis, Arthritis, etc, especially for women. For instance, the elderly have a common problem of muscle and bone loss. However, doing physical exercises can be proven as magic to prevent or slow muscle and also manage the symptoms of Arthritis.
Working as Anti-Depressants:
Do you know that regular physical activities can boost the serotonin hormone? Women who deal with severe depression can do exercises to deal with it as exercise is the most strong anti-depressant.
Boosting Self-Confidence:
Women who do exercise regularly are more confident in anything they do as compared to those who do not exercise. One of the key reasons for this is that exercise helps women maintain an active lifestyle, thus boosting their self-esteem.
Dealing with Obesity:
Physical exercises greatly assist in managing weight as calories and fat get burned while doing exercises. Overweight women must engage in physical activities as physical exercise is one of the best formulas anyone should follow for weight management.
Which physical exercises can you do as a woman?
Although there are many types of exercises, only three main physical exercises have been pointed out here:
Aerobic Exercises:
Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing, etc. are some of the ways of doing aerobic exercises. Women can do these exercises to increase heart and lung functionality, manage weight, dealing with chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, strokes, etc.
Flexibility Exercises:
These exercises are necessary to master the art of flexibility. Pilates, Tai chi, yoga, etc are some notable stretching exercises by which anyone can be at ease with posture changes or stiffness. Flexibility exercises are conducive to all age groups. The most noteworthy wonders that flexibility exercises can do to women’s bodies are improving athletic performance, and reducing muscle stiffness.
Resistance Exercises:
Working with resistance bands, doing push-ups or sit-ups, doing yoga, and lifting weights are some of the ways you can practice resistance exercises. As muscle and bone mass are common among women during and after menopause, they should do resistance exercises routinely. Muscle endurance and bone density can also be enhanced by doing resistance exercises.
Key things to keep in mind:
- Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Which type of exercise is good for you depends on some key factors like age, personal preferences, fitness levels, time availability, health conditions, etc.
- Don’t try to do any exercise, especially the heavy ones without consulting a physician or an expert. You never know what your body requires without an expert’s help!
- Practice doing exercises regularly but refrain from doing any exercise above the recommended level.
Once you start doing exercises religiously, you will realize how enormously physical exercises benefit you. So, there is no denying that exercise is an essential medicine for everyone. And it is high time every woman realized the necessity of making exercise a habit for leading a healthy and happy life.
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Writer
Taspia
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE