Over the course of the past couple decades, it has been easy to notice a how noticeably out of shape or overweight this society has become. It seems people have fallen into some sort of eating fast-food and being lazy trend, without truly realizes the consequences of these actions. This could also be a result to the lack of exercise that today’s society receives daily but, by exercise in the proper amount and form could be enjoyable and viewed as somewhat of a stress reliever or release. Once exercise isn’t viewed as an unwanted burden or a chore, it can be pleasant and allow for the body to be in its best state both mentally and physically. As Doctor Darren E.R. Warburton states in the CMAJ article, “There appears to be a linear relation between physical activity and health status, such that a further increase in physical activity and fitness will lead to additional improvements in health status.”(Warburton), which is a credible statement from a qualified source, but does not avoid the inevitable question; why do a large amount of people choose to not exercise and live an unhealthy life, if there is a clear relationship between exercise and a healthy life?

Of course, everyone knows that exercise benefits you in some way, shape, or form physically but not everyone how or that it can also provide mental benefits such as a form of a stress release. However, some of the greatest benefits of exercise are considered long-term as Doctor Darren E.R. Warburton explains “There is incontrovertible evidence that regular physical activity contributes to the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases and is associated with a reduced risk of premature death.” (Warburton). There have also been several studies that have suggested that regular physical activity is related directly to decreased chances of getting cancer in particularly breast and colon. With this in consideration, wouldn’t it make more sense for people to exercise more often rather than spending their free-time doing other unproductive things. Of course, there are examples of those who simply cannot exercise or claim they do not have the time, but even those who claim that they do not have the time could find some portion of the day to fit in exercise. The proper amount of exercise a day is about sixty minutes and that is not a very large period that many people claim that they do not have but in reality, some of the scariest things in life such as cancer and death can have been proven to be temporarily prevented by simply exercising often. Also, routine physical activity is closely related with improvement in a person’s physiological well-being. In the article by Darren Warburton, he references the physiological benefits by stating, “Psychological well-being is particularly important for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, but it also has important implications for the prevention and management of other chronic diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, obesity, cancer and depression.” (Warburton). A workout routine can be one of the most helpful methods when it comes to physical activity because it allows a set aside time for exercise during the day that could also contain busy or conflicting activities that would have previously been substituted for physical activity. However, with an allotted time and a plan for how you are going to exercise, it is much easier to make it a small portion of the day that can be easily tackled. So now the question has become, what kind of exercise should be done in order to obtain the most benefits?

There are many forms of physical activity that could qualify for daily exercise but the question is which type of exercise is the best and will yield the most benefits. It is hard to know exactly which form of exercise is best for everyone but there are specific benefits each form of physical activity provides. For example, one form of physical activity called cardiovascular exercise which involves exercises such as jogging or playing any sport that involves a decent amount of running. This is one of the most common forms of exercise and for the most part can be performed by most people and hopefully can be done with ease. The definition of cardiovascular fitness as defined by Darren E.R. Warburton is “The ability to transport and use oxygen during prolonged, strenuous exercise or work. It reflects the combined efficiency of the lungs, heart, vascular system and exercising muscles in the transport and use of oxygen.” (Warburton). This type of physical activity is very beneficial and can help prevent one of the deadliest diseases in the United States, Cardiovascular disease. Another form of exercise that is become very common in today’s society is bodybuilding or weight lifting. Of course, there are many that associate this form of exercise with performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids which is a very deadly testosterone boosting drug that in the short term allows for extensive muscle growth and strength, but in the long-term can have some very deadly side-effects. However, many have ignored these side-effects and continue to use to product knowing the deadly effects it has had on the many people who have taken it before them, but why? It must be because of how much these people want to have the effects and results of constantly exercising with a difficult workout plan, in the form of an injection that will kill them. It seems as if they are receiving exactly what they are trying to avoid in the first place, which is being average or out of shape. However, if they chose to naturally become physically fit by either performer some sort of cardiovascular exercise, bodybuilding/weightlifting exercise or get into a routine that involves both, they could have enjoyed the benefits from exercising naturally instead of receiving help from a performance enhancing drug with deadly side-effects. For example, there have been many body-builders over the history of the sport who have used performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids that it has become a common practice but as explained by F.H. Lloyd on bodybuilders and the use of steroids confirming that there is a relationship between the amount of steroids that has been injected into the body and the amount of sperm the male is able to produce (Lloyd 100). This is a very strange relationship because not many people know the direct relationship between sperm count and steroid. Although this is not one of the worst side effects to routine steroid usage, it is somewhat remarkable to believe that this is one of the side-effects and is on the list of negatives that are involved with exercise.

Although there are many benefits to exercise that have the potential to allow someone to hopefully live a long and healthy life, there are definitely reasons people have to not exercise. For example, an article from Livestrong by Nikki Kearny states that there are cons to exercising often such as increase to injury “If you’ve never exercised before, you may not know how to perform certain exercises properly, which can lead to injury.”(Kearny). This is a common reason to be somewhat hesitant to exercise especially if just beginning but if properly trained or assisted for the session, it could ease the transition into a routine. Another con that could also be considered with exercise is fatigue or soreness. These are side effects that could be considered as minor but could affect people in different ways and influence their desire to exercise. There truly are very few cons to exercise, and its benefits could change the lives of millions. Although there are people who struggle with the task of exercising or have a genetic disable, it is still very difficult to live a healthy life with a physical activity routine. 

In conclusion, exercise has proven to have many more benefits towards a healthy and long life than not exercising. As Dr. Darren E. Warburton stated in his article that Osteoporosis’s primary prevention from exercise is, “Weight-bearing exercise, resistance exercise, appears to have the greatest effects on bone mineral density. In one review, several cross-sectional reports revealed that people who did resistance training had increased bone mineral density compared with those who did not do such training. Furthermore, athletes who engaged in high impact sports tended to have increased bone mineral density compared with athletes who engaged in low-impact sports.” This review truly shows how a certain form of contact exercise can truly be beneficial and have a positive outcome on a person’s future. Warburton also says that “The risk and incidence of fractures is also reduced among active people.” Which again is an argument that discredits a con made by Nikki Kearny and how she stated that “If you’ve never exercised before, you may not know how to perform certain exercises properly, which can lead to injury.”(Kearny). This is ironic because those who do exercise are actually have a better chance to have stronger bones, which could lead to less injury. It could also be argued that certain forms of exercise are more dangerous than others but there is really no true reason to not exercise and it should have a routine placement in everyone’s life in order to establish the healthiest lifestyle possible. Therefore, there is no true reason to not exercise, so what is yours?

