There are a lot of things that happen to your body when you don’t exercise enough – and it’s not just weight gain. You need to remember that even a little bit of exercise is better than nothing at all. Read on and find out about the dangers on inactivity, even if you are thin you are not immune!
Energy Levels
Mitochondria live in all your cells; body tissue, organs, and muscles, and they are energy producing structures. To work properly, theseamazing little structures need carbohydrates and oxygen. Mitochondria levels drop when your heart isn’t working at it’s full potential and your oxygen levels are diminished due to inactivity. Fatigue occurs when energy production is slowed down and the body requires that energy to get work done.
Bone Health
Your bones love a good workout almost as much as they love calcium. When you don’t do any weight-bearing exercises your bones lose density and the ability to effectively store calcium. When your bones aren’t storing enough calcium, it means there is more mineral build up in organs like your kidneys, which causes kidney stones.
If you are inactive over a long period of time, your bones begin to weaken. Sometimes this results in osteoporosis, which leads to a higher risk of painful bone fractures.
Muscle Health
Just like your bones, your muscles love a good workout too. One of the first signs that you’re out of shape is the loss of muscle tone and strength. When your muscles stay idle for too long your blood flow slows down and the exchange of waste products and nutrients decreases. Less mitochondria results in lack of muscle coordination.
Without workout out, the connection between your nerves and muscles can’t function as best as the should. How does this affect you? You will often find it more difficult to get around with the speed and agility you once could. It can also mean decreased strength and an increase of risking muscle injury because your muscle mass is shrinking.
Heart Health
No matter what your age is, it’s important that you keep your heart as healthy as possible. Even though your heart muscle is different from your skeletal muscles, the same principles still apply. When you don’t workout, the heart muscle will shrink. This makes it difficult for your heart to function properly and distribute blood through your body and the heart ends up working much harder to get the blood where it needs to go, especially to hands and feet.
Sluggish blood flow leads to plaque in the blood vessels. In turn, this sometimes causes high blood pressure, dizziness, and circulation problems. These conditions can be very dangerous if left untreated.
Inactivity can cause sever damage to your body! This is especially true for those who already deal with chronic conditions, because it can only make things worse.
Sometimes periods of inactivity are inevitable, but the sooner you can get up and start a light workout routine the better you will be in both mind and body.
