Did you want a few more reasons for you to add exercise to your daily regimen? Then, consider the benefits that exercise has on the skin. There are a number of ways in which you can benefit from exercise. Sure, you can lose a few pounds. You can also get a better-looking six-pack for doing a bit of work. But, did you know that your skin could actually benefit from exercise as well? This is very true and you can reap the rewards right away too.
When you think of exercise, do you think of toning your body? Maybe you think of losing weight or building muscles. Maybe your doctor has told you that you nave to exercise for health reasons.There are a number of things that people think of when they think of exercise, but skin care is usually not one of them. I have seen the skin care benefits of exercise firsthand. My oldest son has been experiencing severe acne and recently joined the cross-country running team at his high school. After three weeks of running daily with the team, he has already begun to show a major difference in his skin.Acne sufferers are not the only people that have their skin benefit from exercise. Exercise improves your circulation, which means that any skin will benefit from it. Increased circulation brings more nutrients to the skin and removes more internal toxins from it. Perspiration during exercise pushes upper layer toxins to the surface and, provided you cleanse the skin after exercise, these toxins are removed. The result is a natural glow that is associated with youthful, healthy skin. Of course, your skin will be much healthier, but it may not be as youthful, but it will appear that way.
Unlike my son, you do not have to take on an incredibly vigorous exercise; you simply need to begin doing an exercise that increases that heart rate for at least 20 minutes. Exercise that elevates the heart rate for 20 minutes or more will have keep your heart rate increased (to some extent) for the same duration after you stop the exercise. This mean that a light aerobic workout (or other form of exercise which increases heart rate) for 20 minutes will keep a slightly elevated heart rate for 20 minutes after you finish your workout. The same is true for other time periods for longer than 20 minutes; 30 minutes increases the heart rate for 30 minutes after you finish, etc.
When I say exercise that increases the heart rate, you will need to use common sense. Lifting weights to build muscle or slow walks do not do this. Exercises that work are brisk walks, aerobics, jogging, running, jumping on a trampoline, etc. Of these, the exercise that seems the easiest, but is actually the hardest to keep up for the duration of 20 minutes, is jumping on a trampoline.
Your dermatologist will tell you that, because the skin is the largest body organ, it reaps more benefits from exercise than the rest of your body parts. Aside from the benefits from increased circulation mentioned above, Exercise benefits the skin by creating the right environment for your skin to build collagen. Collagen fibers are the fibers that support your skin and help wrinkles from appearing. This is why you see women who work out regularly look so much younger.
As we age, the cells that produce collagen in out bodies slow down. The result of this is skin that appears loose and is dry and wrinkled. By adding a regular exercise routine, you skin gets the nutrients and oxygen it needs for these bells to perform their best. When these cells function better, your skin looks much more youthful.
Regular exercise will eventually help your muscles to relax. This seems odd since the first affects of exercise are a tightening and toning process that gives better shape to them. However, with continued exercise, your muscles pass this stage and learn to relax. Through this relaxation, anger expression lines and crows feet will begin to soften and future lines will be slower in coming. In other words, exercise is a great, cheap anti aging solution for your skin as well as the rest of your body.
Keep in mind that you cannot tone and build facial muscles like other body muscles. While there are fads concerning facial exercise and facial calisthenics, pleasing effects (if there are any) are only temporary. In fact, over time, facial exercise can actually make more expression lines and wrinkles appear.
Exercise is something that the body needs, no matter what. Here are some ways in which it can help your skin to look amazing and to glow without the help of any chemicals and treatments.
- Reduces your acne. Believe it or not, you can reduce the amount of acne that you have on your body, especially your face. Exercise will get the body moving and will therefore create sweat. Think sweat is a bad thing? It can help to keep your pores cleaned out and help remove harmful chemicals that are stored deep in them. Also, it can help by mediating the testosterone hormones in the skin, which cause acne in the first place.
- Increased circulation. If you get in a regular workout in, you are likely to increase the circulation in your body. This will promote the increased delivery of nutrients to the skin cells. Toxins are also on the out. By increasing circulation of the blood in your body, you will be adding quite a benefiting factor to your skin. It can also help in making collagen and keep the wrinkles at bay.
- De-stressing you. By exercising, your body can help you to be less stressed. There are plenty of ways in which this is beneficial to your body and overall health. The skin is no different. Being less stressed will encourage more of a natural glow to your skin.
What do you need to do to get these benefits from exercise on your skin? You do not need to spend all of your days working out. In fact, working with a personal trainer is the ideal way to go. But, even if you do not do this, virtually any type of exercise can be beneficial to you. For example, you can go yoga if you find it to be your style. Or, do some aerobics. Still looking for something different? Then, consider walking, running, bike riding or even swimming. Exercise can be beneficial to your body, including your skin.
