The promise of a flatter tummy may be all the inspiration you need to exercise, but that is not all. Most of us probably only hit the gym under duress to look good. but according to health studies review published in the International Clinical Practice, regular exercise can help you look radiant with gorgeous younger looking skin.
Physical activity doesn’t just give your skin a healthy glow – it cleanses you from the inside, reduces inflammatory responses such as eczema, and even cutd your risk of skin cancer, according to a study on mice at Rutgers University. Karen Fischer, author of The Healthy Skin diet says, “You only need to briefly sweat to improve your skin health – a 15 minute minimum per day.”
According to experts, to improve your skin, you’ll want to focus on resistance training, where you’re using your own body weight to challenge your muscles. Lunges, push ups, and planking are examples of resistance exercises. Excessive cardio training is not recommended if skin toning is your goal. Conventional cardio or long-distance running can actually do more harm than good, and this extends to your skin as well.
Water is another key ingredient. It should come as no great surprise that sweating and improving blood flow is good for your skin. Your skin is the largest organ for detoxification, and sweating not only helps regulate body temperature; it also helps eliminate toxins. Improved blood flow, in turn, helps shuttle oxygen and nutrients to your skin, which is key for beautiful complexion.
In addition to hydrating your skin from the inside out, increasing your water intake will also help flush out trapped toxins, oils, and debris that can contribute to acne. The combination of being well-hydrated and boosting blood flow can also benefit your hair, as it will naturally stimulate your hair follicles and promote hair growth.
Try to find time to be outside every day in the most pristine environment you can access. If you work outside it’s much easier to get the glow. This is because outside air is cleaner and a better source of oxygen. If your skin does not receive enough oxygen, it will appear dull and aged, and be extra vulnerable to attack by free radicals.
Have you ever wondered why your emotions have such a profound effect on your skin? Being happy and relaxed promotes a state of internal “flow” where everything happens just as it should. But when you’re stressed, cells throughout your body contract. Spend enough time in this state and it’s a recipe for a sluggish system where nutrients and oxygen can’t get into your cells and wastes can’t get out.
Regular exercise is also one of the “secret weapons” to overcoming depression. Indeed, it is a recipe for both looking and feeling better. There is plenty of research validating the value of exercise for the treatment of depression. A 2011 study concluded that exercise led to a 30 per cent remission in patients who had failed to get any relief from antidepressant medications.
Plagued by dark circles? You’re not alone. As many as 60 million Americans wrestle with insomnia, according to a recent Harvard Medical School report. A slew of studies show exercise can elicit longer, more restful sleep.If you ever have trouble falling asleep at night, the National Sleep Foundation says that regular exercise can help you sleep better. The best time to work out is in the morning or the afternoon, rather than before bed—if you exercise too closely to bedtime, it can actually have the opposite effect! Sleeping better leaves you looking fresh and healthy.
Getting fit not only makes you look sexy, it also makes you feel sexy by balancing the body’s sex hormone levels, which in turn can improve the appearance of hair, skin and muscle tone. Although the most studied hormones linked to exercise are endorphins, sex hormones, such as testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH — the same youth-serum substance celebrities pay thousands to be injected with), also get a boost.
Experts say that nothing is more gorgeous than the self-assurance that comes from feeling good in your own skin. Confident people radiate a certain physical appeal and charisma. A recent British study found that people who began a regular exercise program at their local gym felt better about their self-worth, their physical condition and their overall health compared with their peers who stayed home. The best part was that their self-worth crept up right away — even before they saw a significant change in their bodies.
Regular exercise trains the body to burn visceral fat more efficiently. Exercise attacks fat on several fronts, explain experts. When you exercise regularly, your body produces more proteins to speed up the transportation of fatty acids into cells to be burned as energy; and it makes more enzymes that break down fat. And the better your whole body looks as a result.
Text: Bauer/ Good Health/ Additional Reporting: Shenielle Aloysis