A lot of people, weather slender or even obese, truly believe that they don’t need to exercise. Many people feel that they can skip the exercise if they simply focus on their eating habits instead. It is no doubt that hundreds of thousands of Americans spend millions of dollars each year on diet pills, "magical" exercise devices, and misrepresented health and fitness products, when in all actuality a good set of dumbbells and a brisk walk may be all you need to get in better shape than you've ever been in. The weight loss frenzy in America has become a health epidemic, and businesses are reaping the benefits. But the fact is, you don’t need magic foods or expensive machinery to get in shape. A simple jump rope or a set of dumbbells can get you miles closer to a healthy body.
What can you do with nothing but a set of dumbbells, you ask? Provide resistance to your body's movements - also known as weight lifting. That's all weight lifting is - resistance. The terms "weight lifting" and "resistance training" have become one in the same because they are describing the same activity - moving your body under more resistance than it normally has to handle.
In fact, you've just stumbled upon the basic secret of exercise in general! Whether you are talking about resistance training, Pilates, Yoga, cardiovascular activities, or any other form of exercise, all of these programs have one thing in common - performing more activity than you would get sitting on the couch. WHY should you exercise, though?
How about defying the aging process for starters? Do you know that the primary reason why elderly people end up in nursing homes is because they lose the ability to think and move on their own? Do you also know that the entire process of thinking and moving on our own happens because we do it every day? Until we retire, that is. Once we don't have to go to work anymore, or deal with scheduling and lifestyle issues, suddenly the only thing that we have to think about is whether to watch game shows or soap operas all day long, and the only exercise we get is deftly flying our fingers over the remote control.
We need exercise not just for vanity, to have a slender, sexy body. Exercise is directly associated with your risks for heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, and a number of other huge health problems. Your body needs exercise to properly battle adverse health affects. Whether you are young or old, exercise is more than just about getting fit—it’s about protecting your health. If you wouldn’t skip your daily multivitamin or forget to eat greens with your dinner, you certainly shouldn’t be skipping exercise.
