THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE: advice for students regarding the importance and necessity of regular exercise

Exercise has many benefits. It can:
Increase your strength and energy
Lift your mood when you feel down
Make your body look better and more toned
Help you maintain a healthy weight or lose excess body fat
Help you sleep

Improve your self-esteem
Help keep your bones strong throughout your lifetime
Prevent diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease
You should try to exercise at a moderate level for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week. In addition to being active everyday, it is recommended that you spend 20 to 30 minutes of your exercise time doing vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 times a week
Starting slow and building up to this is just fine. Every little bit counts when you're just beginning, so take time for a short walk or bike ride a few times during the day.

It is important to listen to your body's signals, such as getting really tired, out of breath or being too sore the next day. If you are unsure, ask your health care provider, coach, or physical education teacher.

Always, drink water before, during and after exercise.

The most important ingredient to exercise is SELF-MOTIVATION.

Many teens don't exercise because they are simply lazy. Fact. Exercise requires effort sometimes a lot of it and if you do not have the willpower, it can soon become an unwanted chore.

Always remember the gains that you will get through exercising. Focus on the benefits. If you don't feel like exercising do it anyway, because you WILL feel good afterwards.

Be disciplined. Exercise is not just good for the body, but important for the brain.

SCREENING OUT EXERCISE

The typical teenager can spend as much as 30 hours a week sitting in front of the television. Scientists have discovered that our metabolism slows down when we watch TV and we burn fewer calories than if we just sat doing nothing at all. Teenagers eat a high amount of junk food, with a very high energy content but because teens are not burning off those calories, the energy is stored as fat. Given that very few teenagers are exercising regularly, these fat stores accumulate.

Alarmingly, many teens eat high sugar snacks while watching TV - which makes matter worse. So, when teens should be burning off the calories from snacking on junk food during the day, many tend to park in front of the screen, piling on the fat.

For many teens, if it is

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