“Stronger and more flexible”
“Feel constantly happier”
“Improvement in biomarkers such as cholesterol and triglycerides”
“Better range of motion”
“Less headaches”
“Better eyesight”
“More self-confidence”
“Improved bone density”
“Easier pregnancy and birth”
“Reduction in T-cell count (HIV virus)”
“Less Stiffness and pain in joints”
“Better mental focus and clarity”
“Improved performance for sports”
“Cure diabetes”
“Better balance “
“Less heartburn and acid reflux”
“Feel the need to drink less alcohol”
“Less sickness with flu and colds “
“Breathe easier”
“More sociable”
“Better quality time with my children”
“Able to volunteer more and give back to my community”
“More spiritual”
“Stronger faith”

And the list goes on and on and on and on and on and on! Kind of seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. I’ve seen and witnessed all this for the past 12 years doing what I do for a living.

Some other benefits are: the longer you remain consistent with maintaining an exercise program and good eating habits, the more efficient your body will become at burning off its fat stores for an energy source during exercise. Your body relies on stored carbohydrates (glycogen stored in the body) for energy, too, especially for more intense, shorter-duration exercises. Lower intensity, longer-duration exercises tend to utilize more of your fat stores for energy, so here you can see how jogging, hiking, or biking can be a great way to start to train your body to use fat for fuel. Once that starts happening, when you do more intense shorter-duration workouts such as resistance training, your body becomes better at switching over to fat for fuel.

Also, as we age our muscle mass starts to decrease, which makes our metabolism slow down (metabolism is our body’s ability to convert food and other substances into energy, essentially its calorie burning ability). In particular, this becomes a real issue for people over the age of 50. Strength and resistance type of exercises help to retain as much of your muscle mass as possible, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated. Always remember a pound of fat on your body only burns about 2 to 3 calories per day, whereas a pound of lean skeletal muscle burns roughly 50 calories per day. Can you see the difference it can make as you replace your body fat with lean skeletal muscle tissue? Your body becomes a lean, mean calorie burning machine, even while you are watching TV and sleeping!

(This article was an excerpt from my new books “Tight, Tone, and Trim” and “Cut, Cool, and Confident”, on sale now at www.amazon.com/author/jackwitt and available as paperbacks or e-books. )

This article made its debut on www.nohoartsdistrict.com

(Jack Witt is a Health and Fitness Coach providing In Home Personal Training, Personal Training at Private Fitness Centers in the North Hollywood, Burbank, Studio City, Sherman Oaks areas, as well as Worksite Health Programs, Corporate Wellness, Life Coaching Products, Keynote Speaking, and Group Exercise Classes. He is an author of fitness and health books “Tight, Tone, and Trim” and “Cut, Cool, and Confident”, available at Amazon.com )