Does exercise promote your health?

The most important points in brief

• Humans are genetically designed for movement.
• Our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago were often on their feet all day organizing food.
• This is the only way they could survive - and even today daily exercise is firmly anchored in our genetic make-up so that we feel good.
• Movement is also essential for many biological systems. This text tells you which systems are meant.

Movement is not only in people's blood, but also in their genes. Our genetic makeup is designed in such a way that we should be physically active. This is the only way for our body to generate the energy it needs to keep the organism in balance. So movement is normal for the body - if you don't move, you risk your health and performance.

Those who were unable to move were sifted out by nature

Life in the African steppe was incredibly hard and often very short. People who were not agile enough to chase prey to death could not survive in the long run. In addition, injuries or damage to the musculoskeletal system did not allow one to run away from danger, so anyone who was sick became a victim of predators.

In biology one speaks of stress reactions when a person has to adapt his performance to the respective environment. Movement is an elementary component of this stress reaction and has been stored deep in our genes for ages. So if you do not move, you violate your own biological conditioning to a certain extent. You can see that with very simple examples. Anyone who is forced to barely move for a certain period of time due to an illness or a broken bone quickly loses muscle mass. This then weakens the entire musculoskeletal system. A build-up program or training is required before the full load works again.

Muscles and the musculoskeletal system benefit from movement

Humans can fall back on more than 650 muscles, and the better these are trained through movement, the more efficient we are. The energy metabolism is improved as well as the endurance. Many muscles work together during movement - muscles are a system that needs movement if it is to be exercised. On the other hand, we need good muscles in order to be able to move sufficiently.

The musculoskeletal system, which has already been mentioned, also consists of muscles - but not only. Tendons, bones, joints and ligaments are also part of it. The formula is simple: those who exercise enough also strengthen the musculoskeletal system.

Respiration and the cardiovascular system

He who moves, breathes deeply. This is accompanied by a significantly increased uptake of oxygen and an improved release of CO2. It also trains the lung volume and thus the capacity of this organ.

The cardiovascular apparatus benefits from this as the fourth system. Because physical activity leads to better blood transport to the cells, and the amount of blood also increases. In addition, if there is sufficient movement, the blood is circulated up to five times per minute and not just once, as is the case at rest. The bottom line is that the cells are better supplied with oxygen, nutrients and hormones thanks to the optimized blood flow.

Further advantages for daily exercise

By the way, a lot of exercise leads to a stronger immune system, an intact hormone balance, a healthy nervous system and keeps you mentally fresh. The brain functions, the fat and sugar balance and the energy balance of the entire organism also experience positive effects. That is why it is important to exercise daily. Whether sports such as jogging, fitness exercises, swimming or everyday activities such as walking stairs instead of taking the elevator, walking to the bus instead of the car or the like promotes health.