6 Reasons to Exercise

6 of the best reasons to exercise!

As Physiotherapists and personal trainers at Pain and Performance Clinic Lucan, we have learned that it’s not always clear to people right away why exercise is so important.

You may have heard that “exercise is the best medicine” but oftentimes the reason WHY we should exercise can be forgotten about or taken for granted by fitness and health professionals. Understanding the benefits of exercising can be the difference between someone who quits on their fitness goals within a few weeks, and someone who builds the habit of moving daily leading to a change in their lifestyle, health, and overall attitude towards exercise. I would like to shed light on these all-important benefits so that you can learn how exercise can improve your life!

1) Look and feel better


Have you ever heard of a ‘runners high’ and wondered what it meant? Exercise releases ‘happy hormones in the body! It helps you to destress from the madness of everyday life and take some time to listen to your body! Thankfully it’s not just runners that get to enjoy this release of dopamine and serotonin, it’s anyone who participates in any extended exercise. Feeling better goes hand in hand with looking better!

When you feel good you look good and vice versa. Exercise can help your entire body look better. Whether that is by losing some excess weight through cardio or giving you more defined muscles with weight training. Our 1 to 1 personal training in Pain and Performance Clinic Lucan gives you the best of both! Something that can be kept a secret, however, is that strength training with or without weights allows your body to continue to burn calories throughout the day even after you exercise!

2) Increase energy and productivity


Life is hectic, busy, and pretty exhausting! Sometimes we can get so caught up in our work, looking after children or family, that over time our own energy levels can become super low, and everyday tasks can feel like climbing a mountain. Taking part in regular exercise even little amounts throughout the workday has been shown to increase energy and productivity levels. Instead of reaching for the afternoon pick me up from a coffee or a chocolate biscuit, taking 5 or 10 minutes to go for a walk or a lunchtime PT class will get you to finish out your day strong and give you the boost you need.

3) Reduce your risk of getting injured


Injuries typically occur when you do too much too quickly after too little for too long! Resistance training and sport-specific drills in our Personal training classes in Lucan will get your muscles and joints strong so that when you play your sport, whether that’s down at the local 5 a side or in Croke park, your body is primed and ready for the demands of your sport. Therefore reducing the risk of getting injured.

4) Exercise allows you to do the things that you enjoy


While getting your body moving, lifting heavy things off the floor, and getting a good sweat going feels amazing, it’s the effects that it has on your life outside of the gym that is truly fulfilling. Let’s say you love to go hiking with your friends every few weeks or months, but time after time, you feel your ankle or knee niggling at you within the first hour or you start to feel your legs tiring long before you’re ready to call it a day.

Perhaps you’ve recently become a first-time parent and you’re struggling to put down and pick your baby up from the cot due to nagging back pain. Or maybe you’re a grandparent longing to play with your grandchildren but that relentless shoulder pain is holding you back. Issues like this can put a dampener on your enjoyment and turn something you love doing into something you absolutely dread! Fortunately, with the right coach and exercise plan, problems like these can be dealt with head-on. Getting stronger and moving more is often just what people need to be able to better enjoy the things that they love.

5) Age-Related Decline


As we get older we are usually told that our muscles get weaker and joints become stiffer. These age-related changes can sometimes lead to reduced confidence and increased falls risk. Due to the increased aging population of the world, a large number of studies have shown that exercise is best for maintaining independence and quality of life. Thankfully, no matter what age we are we can always build muscle and strength. Personal training classes with our Physiotherapists in Pain and Performance can help you or your family members get stronger and more confident with everyday tasks. Age is just a number after all, so why not get a head start and get moving safely.

6) Exercise stops you from getting sore


More often than not, “pain” is the result of muscle weakness and not enough moving! For example, people tend to avoid moving their shoulders when they start feeling pain or discomfort. This leads to the shoulder muscles getting weaker, leading to more stiffness and pain-causing them to avoid moving it even more! This vicious cycle can repeat over and over until that person becomes fearful of “causing more damage” to their shoulder…which couldn’t be further from the truth! Relaxed movement and strength training lead to less stiff, less painful, stronger, and healthier joints and muscles. “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

In a world where everyone is tracking how many steps they are taking each day and with social media pages proclaiming that their “revolutionary” training plan is what you need to get fit. It’s easy to forget that we simply need to move.

‘Exercise’ can be seen as a chore when it’s not enjoyed, but everyone can learn to love exercise when they find something that’s right for them. At Pain and Performance Clinic Lucan we want to help you get back to the exercise that you love or help you to discover something new. With our 1 to1 training, we tailor our sessions to your individual goals.

Tommy Brennan

Tommy Brennan

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Our goal here is to get you out of pain and back to your physical best so that you can enjoy the things that are important to you.  

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