Notes

Designed to Move - Exercise IS VITAL for Optimal Health
Exercise can decrease you threat of heart disease, boost your energy levels, enhance your mood and self confidence, improve your memory, help you sleep better, and slow down the aging process. Yet most people still find a lot of excuses to not exercise. This appears to be particularly true in the church, where dedication to exercise is often mistaken for vanity. The simple truth is that Scripture encourages us to activate in physical activity in exercise. Taking into consideration the numerous benefits of exercise, it is obvious that God created us to be active, that people were Made to Move.

Many people are aware of 1 Corinthians 6:10-20, where the Apostle Paul exhorts us to take care of our bodies.

"Or do you not know that your system is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you will be not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a cost: therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NAS95S)
Even though many have heard this verse used to teach that we should avoid promiscuity, alcohol, tobacco and drugs, it really is rare that people are taught that verse is not just a warning in order to avoid these activities, but can be an exhortation to be proactive in caring for our bodies. We have to make sure that we keep our anatomies in peak condition constantly. That means that people are to glorify God both with the foods we consume to fuel our anatomies, but also that people are to engage in physical exercise. Actually, in his first letter to Timothy, Paul says:

"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for several things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is ahead." (1 Timothy 4:8 NKJV)
Some people take Paul's words that bodily exercise profits a little but that godliness is profitable for several things as a dismissal of exercise, which makes for a convenient excuse for them to sit around on their duff. But that is not what Paul is saying. First, we've already seen from 1 Corinithians that God is greatly concerned with the what we do with our bodies. Second, we need to consider the context.

"But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life span that now is and of that that is ahead." (1 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV)
Paul is instructing Timothy to reject false teaching, which is harmful to us spiritually, and to exercise ourselves toward godliness. Paul then reaffirms the advantage of physical exercise to use it as an example of the greater advantage of spiritual exercise. Bodily exercise, while beneficial in this life will not bring about eternal life. Nonetheless it still profits. I am reminded of Jesus' instruction to the Pharisees.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you personally tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of regulations: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you ought to have done without neglecting the others." (Matthew 23:23 NAS95S)
It is not an incident of "either/or" but of "both/and." We need to exercise ourselves bodily and spiritually. To assume that Paul is teaching in 1 Timothy that Christians should not engage in physical activity is to belong to the Gnostic heresy and ignores Paul's numerous other references to the benefits of physical discipline and exercise.

Another fundamental rule of interpreting Scripture is you need to take into consideration the original audience as well as the distance of time. Paul wrote these words to Timothy nearly 2000 years back. Paul and Timothy lived in a time and culture where constant physical exercise was the norm. It has only been in the last 100 years that labor-saving devices have led to a drastic decline of our daily physical activity. A recently available study of Old Order Amish populations, who reject modern conveniences, showed a very high level of activity is built-into their daily lives. Typically, the Amish participated in six times the exercise performed by participants in a recently available survey of 12 modernized nations.

"The Amish could actually show us just how far we've fallen within the last 150 years or so in terms of the quantity of physical activity we typically perform," said David R. Bassett, Ph.D., FACSM, a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and lead researcher for the analysis. "Their lifestyle indicates that exercise played a crucial role keeping in mind our ancestors healthy."

So Paul was advocating the advantages of physical exercise in a culture that was much more active than we have been. How much more important it is for us to engage in physical exercise! Dr. John J. Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School commented:

In the current technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it's easy to forget that people are born movers... because we've engineered movement right out of our lives... The sedentary character of modern life is really a disruption of our nature and it poses one of the primary threats to our continued survival... we're literally killing ourselves.

We could talk about the benefits of regular physical exercise for hours at a time. The objective of this lesson would be to touch on some of the primary scientifically proven benefits. The first good thing about exercise may surprise you. We need to Move FOR THE Mind.

1. EXERCISE SUPERCHARGES THE MIND

In the Introduction of his book Spark: THE BRAND NEW New Science of Exercise and the mind, Dr. Ratey commented:

We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but just about everyone has no idea why. We assume it is because we're burning away stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so excellent when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best, and in my view, this advantage of physical activity is far more important-and fascinating-than what it does for your body. Building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially unwanted effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise would be to build and condition the brain.

Exercise Produces "Miracle Grow" For Your Brain

The most recent research indicates exercise will keep the mind sharp into old age and might help prevent Alzheimer's disease along with other mental disorders that accompany aging. Carl Cotman, Ph.D., of the University of California at Irvine found a link between physical activity and mental ability. In a report published in Nature, Cotman concluded compounds responsible for the brain's health could be controlled by exercise. Cotman conducted his research on rodents because, he says, "the consequences of exercise are nearly identical in humans and rats." In his study, Cotman monitored "couch" rats and rats that ran on a treadmill. The rats that exercised had higher levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the most widely distributed growth element in the brain and one believed to decline with the onset of Alzheimer's.

Exercise Improves Cognitive and Mental Function

Not only does exercise stimulate the creation of new brain cells (neurons), in addition, it strengthens the bond between those cells. The regions of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are associated with memory and learning. Cotman's stated:

Among the prominent features of exercise, that is sometimes not appreciated in studies, can be an improvement in the rate of learning, and I think that's a really cool take-home message because it suggests that if you're in good shape, you could be in a position to learn and function better.

A German study conducted in 2007 showed that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster after exercise than before exercise and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF in the mind.

Exercise Improves Mood

Exercise can be a smart way to lift your mood and enhance your emotions. When you exercise, your system feels more relaxed and calm. Find out website of the reasons and the very best exercises to lift your mood and balance your emotions.

When you exercise, the human brain releases endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals all interact to make you feel good. Furthermore, after exercising you may feel a feeling of accomplishment as well as your muscles will relax deeper due to the workout - easing tension and strain.

"Moderate intensity aerobic fitness exercise improves mood immediately and the ones improvements can last up to 12 hours," concluded study lead researcher Dr. Jeremy Sibold, assistant professor of rehabilitation and movement science at the University of Vermont, Burlington.

Exercise Reduces Stress

Experts agree that one of best ways to reduce stress is through exercise. During the stress response, many chemical reactions occur in the body preparing it to what is called the "fight or flight" response. Our ancestors were able to burn off our stress through their daily activity, such as for example defending themselves when an animal attacked, as it was a means of survival. They were able to try to escape or fight the threat immediately. In today's society, we don't need to fight a bear or tiger, so we do not have a lot of an outlet readily accessible to burn off the stress or stored negative emotions. Therefore, we carry it around creating emotional and physical problems. Exercise might help by giving an outlet for negative emotions such as for example worry, irritability, depression, hostility, anger, frustration, and anxiety. Regular physical exercise provides the opportunity to manage the fight or flight response and helps your body to return to a homeostasis or balanced state more quickly.

Exercise Is An Antidote For Depression

In October of 2000 researchers from Duke University made the New York Times with a study showing that exercise is preferable to sertraline (Zoloft) at treating depression. What very good news! Unfortunately, it was buried on page fourteen of the Health and Fitness section. If exercise came in pill form, it will be plastered over the front page, hailed because the blockbuster drug of the century.

2. EXERCISE SUSTAINS YOUR BODY

If you watch television at all, you are constantly bombarded by advertisements for each prescription drug beneath the sun. Within an hour of TV, you almost certainly watch at the very least 10 of these commercials. What amazes me may be the number of potential unwanted effects these drugs have. You might be better off with whatever is ailing you than facing unwanted effects ranging from the mild to death. The other problem is these drugs usually do not do anything to take care of the root cause of the problem; they only alleviate the outward symptoms. If we would just follow God's advice to exercise our anatomies, we could alleviate the main problem along with the symptoms.

Exercise Boosts Energy and Fights Fatigue

Feeling tired? A walk could be much better than a nap for boosting energy and fighting fatigue.

New research suggests regular physical exercise can increase energy levels even among people experiencing chronic medical conditions associated with fatigue, like cancer and cardiovascular disease.

It may seem counterintuitive, but researchers say expending energy by engaging in regular exercise may pay back with increased energy in the end.

"A lot of times when folks are fatigued, the last thing they want to do is exercise," says researcher Patrick O'Connor, PhD, in a news release. "But if you are physically inactive and fatigued, being just a bit more active will help," says O'Connor, co-director of the University of Georgia exercise psychology laboratory, in Athens, Ga.

"We reside in a society where people are always looking for another sports drink, energy bar, or cup of coffee that will give them the extra edge to get during the day," says researcher Tim Puetz, PhD, also of UGA. "Nonetheless it may be that lacing up your athletic shoes and escaping . and doing some physical exercise every morning can offer that spark of energy that people are seeking."

In this study, published in Psychological Bulletin, the researchers analyzed 70 studies on exercise and fatigue involving a lot more than 6,800 people.

"More than 90% of the studies showed a similar thing: Sedentary people who completed a regular workout program reported improved fatigue in comparison to groups that did not exercise," says O'Connor. "It is a very consistent effect."

The outcomes show that regular physical exercise increases energy and reduces fatigue.

The average effect was greater than the improvement from using stimulant medications, including ones useful for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.

Researchers say nearly every group studied -- from healthy adults, to cancer patients, and the ones with chronic conditions including diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- benefited from exercise.

Exercise Helps Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

There exists a direct relation between physical inactivity and cardiovascular death.

Lack of exercise is one of the major risk factors for coronary disease.

Regular physical activity makes your heart, like any muscle, stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. Regular exercise also prevents cardiovascular disease by lowering blood pressure, increasing good HDL cholesterol that transports fat from the arteries and back to the liver for processing, reducing degrees of bad LDL cholesterol that may form fatty deposits in the arteries and by preventing blood clots.

In a long-term Swedish study women and men who have been physically active at the very least twice weekly had a 41% lower risk of developing cardiovascular system disease than those who performed no physical activity.

Exercise Has a Cholesterol Lowering Effect

Physical exercise favourably influences blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol.

Exercise itself will not burn off cholesterol enjoy it does with fat. Physical exercise can positively alter cholesterol metabolism by increasing the production and action of several enzymes in the muscles and liver that function to convert a number of the cholesterol to a more favorable form, such as for example HDL-cholesterol.

Exercise Helps Prevent and Control Type 2 Diabetes

There is strong evidence from randomized controlled studies

(e.g. Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study and the Diabetes Prevention Program in america) that moderate physical activity combined with weight reduction and balanced diet can confer a 50-60% decrease in threat of developing diabetes among those already at risky.

Regular physical activity may improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance and is impressive in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes in persons with impaired glucose regulation.

Exercise Helps Reduce BLOOD CIRCULATION PRESSURE

The ways where exercise can cause a decrease in blood circulation pressure are unclear, but all types of exercise seem to be effective in reducing blood circulation pressure. Conversely, low physical activity increases the risk of hypertension.

Regular exercise decreases blood circulation pressure in approximately 75% of hypertensive persons with an average loss of 11 and 8 Hg mm for systolic and diastolic blood circulation pressure respectively.

Regular physical exercise may decrease blood circulation pressure in overweight and obese persons even without changes in bodyweight. Aerobic exercise appeares to have a slightly greater effect on blood pressure in hypertensive individuals than in individuals without hypertension.

Exercise Is Associated with a Reduced Threat of Cancer

Evidence exists that physical activity may be of a lower risk of several common forms of cancer, especially colon and breast cancer.

Exercise May Reduce the Risk of Stroke

Research data indicates that moderate and high degrees of physical activity may decrease the risk of total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic strokes.

Those who have good physical function after the age of 40 may lower their risk of stroke by as much as 50 percent compared to people who are unable to climb stairs, kneel, bend, or lift aswell, according to research published in the December 11, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Exercise Increases Bone Strength

A dynamic lifestyle benefits bone density. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation, delays bone loss and could drive back osteoporosis (type of bone loss associated with aging).

Exercise Strengthens Your DISEASE FIGHTING CAPABILITY

Regular moderate exercise could have a beneficial influence on the immune function. The findings from some studies support the possibility that exercise may delay immunosenescence (age dependent decline in immune function).

Exercise Can Help You Sleep Better

If you suffer from poor sleep, daily exercise could make the difference. The natural dip in body's temperature five to six hours after exercise may help to fall asleep. Researches from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that regular physical exercise provides improvement generally quality of sleep, quicker sleep-onset, longer sleep duration and feeling rested in the morning.

Exercise Can Improve Your Sex Life

Regular exercise maintains or improves sex life. Physical improvements in muscle strength and tone, endurance, body composition and cardiovascular function can all enhance sexual functioning in both men and women. Men who exercise regularly are less inclined to have erection dysfunction and impotence than are men who don't exercise.

Exercise MIGHT HELP Reduce Back Pain

By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular physical exercise really helps to prevent back pain. Top quality studies prove that exercise is an effective treatment for recurrent low back pain.

Exercise Has Gastrointestinal Tract Benefits

Exercise is effective for persons experiencing cholelithiasis and constipation. Physical exercise may reduce the risk of diverticulosis, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Exercise is an Alternative to Hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women

High-intensity exercise significantly reduces negative changes related to the menopausal transition.

CONCLUSION

At this point it should be abundantly clear that physical activity is good for us. The Apostle Paul repeatedly used physical training to illustrate spiritual truths which indicates he viewed physical exercise and even competition in a positive light. However, much like a lot of things in life, you can find extremes in your community of exercise. Some individuals focus entirely on spirituality, to the neglect of their physical bodies. read more focus so much attention on the proper execution and shape of their physical bodies that they neglect spiritual growth and maturity. Neither of these indicates a biblical balance. We need to consistenly develop our body, mind, and spirit.

I'm here to assist you in reaching your targets. You simply have to touch base. Contact me at [http://www.freedomthroughfitness.com] and let's begin to make positive changes that you experienced.

Deryl Williams Duer is a former college minister and police officer who has transitioned his love for fitness, faith and freedom into a six-figure international company that now helps others live the life span of their dreams.

Deryl founded Freedom Through Fitness along with his wife, Tracy, after stepping onto the edge of physical and financial ruin. Having experienced a whole turn-around, they are now passionate about offering hope and support to those who find themselves dissatisfied making use of their current situation and need to live a wholesome, more productive life.
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