How Excercise Affects Energy
By GetFitFocus
Cell Efficiency
A very important reason for this is attributed to the way that exercise will help you to enhance your cellular efficiency. Inside each of your cells are tiny little ‘energy factories’ called mitochondria. These are what take the energy (glucose) from your food and convert it into something called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The mitochondria also break that ATP down to release the energy that drives muscle contractions, deep thought and breathing.
The number of mitochondria in our system actually depletes as we age. When you’re a growing child you have loads of them, and they function much more efficiently during the early stages of life. So if you ever wondered why all Grandpa does is sleep, while little Timmy rushes around the house all day with what seems like boundless energy, then that would be why.
However, when you exercise, you boost the function and number of your mitochondria. This doesn’t just help you to perform better in athletic activities – it also helps you to think better and to wake up more alert so that you can get more done daily. You are beginning to see just how relevant exercise is to boosting your productivity and improving your overall energy and vitality.
Circulation and Blood Pressure
Another powerful effect on energy comes from the impact that cardio fitness has on circulation and blood pressure in your body. In short, using your heart a lot will make you better at pumping blood around your body, which provides you with oxygen, nutrients etc. The best form of exercise for this benefit is steady state cardio. Running long distances gives your heart’s left ventricle time to enlarge and that means you can pump more blood around in your body more easily. Oxygen is a major player when it comes to cell metabolism, which is a fancy way of saying reactions that help facilitate biological functions. In addition to running, any form of exercise will help increase your VO2 Max, your resting heart rate – which effectively has a positive correlation to your energy levels.
There is a good reason that physical activity has been recommended by health professionals since the beginning of modern medicine. The benefits don’t end at the cellular level but exercise is also super helpful for your brain. It encourages more brain plasticity, which improves your sleep – thus giving you more energy. Working out and shredding fat will make you lighter, meaning you spend less energy moving around. In conclusion, exercise is a ticket to added energy and helps you use that energy more efficiently.