6 Benefits Of High-Intensity Exercise

Regular exercise and physical activity are considered beneficial for your health. It’s part of the main trio needed for your body – a balanced diet, good sleep, and regular exercise. That’s why you’re often encouraged to engage in physical activity even for a few minutes, as a little physical activity is better than none at all. 

Vigorous-intensity exercise, or also known as called high-intensity exercise, is a physical activity that tends to be done with vast amounts of effort and energy, resulting in rapid breathing and a higher heart rate. Some examples of vigorous exercises are cycling, running, singles tennis, strength training, martial arts, or lap swimming. 

A good and simple physical exercise may already bring you numerous benefits such as a better sleep, improved mood, and the ability to stay in shape. But perhaps you’re wondering if you get the same benefits if you take your exercise routine up a notch. High-intensity exercises may be more beneficial than you think. 

To enlighten you, here are six benefits you may get from high-intensity and vigorous exercises.

1. Lower Risk Of Chronic Disease

Medical experts may tell you that a lack of exercise or leading a sedentary lifestyle could potentially bring you closer to chronic diseases in the future. People who don’t engage in any form of exercise at all may be more at risk of developing diseases like osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, and different types of cancer. If you want to ensure that you don’t fall victim to any chronic illnesses, especially heart-related diseases, signing yourself up for vigorous exercise may be a good preventative measure to take. A high-intensity exercise can do well for your heart and improve your cardiovascular health. It is also believed to control your blood sugar, blood pressure, and aerobic capacity. A study conducted also concluded that people who engage in high-intensity exercise have a lower risk of chronic heart illnesses. Therefore, vigorous exercise routines that force you to train like a hero, may also protect you from potential health problems later in life. 

2. Improved Brain Health

Exercise is considered good not only for your heart but also for your brain. But when it comes to high-intensity workouts, it increases the blood flow in your brain, oxygenating the frontal part. The more blood flow and oxygen in your brain, the healthier and more active it will be. So, if you’re looking for a way to amp your brain health and activity, you may start adding vigorous exercise into your current slow-phase workout routine. According to a study, high-intensity exercise is also known to lessen your risk for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.  

3. Boost Your Mood

It’s no surprise that exercise can boost your mood, give you feel-good hormones, and boost your general happiness. A 2015 study has analyzed that high-intensity exercise may reduce depressive symptoms, while low-impact exercises like walking have no significant effect on depression. So, suppose you’re feeling symptoms of depression despite having regular exercises. In that case, this may be a sign to elevate the intensity of your workouts and increase your heart rate with these vigorous exercises.

4. Higher Calorie Burn

When you're working out at a higher intensity, your body will require more oxygen, which in turn burns more calories from your body. It also offers excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), also known as the “afterburn effect”. This effect enables your body to keep on burning calories even after your workout is completed. This means your metabolism will elevate for a longer time, even after a strenuous exercise session.

5. Faster Weight Loss

In connection with the above, since you’re burning more calories and your metabolism is proactive, it also means you’re losing weight faster than people doing low-intensity exercises. If your goal is to shed larger amounts, then it may be time to sign yourself up for high-intensity exercises. Furthermore, these strenuous exercises are also known to improve your glucose and insulin metabolism and boost your cardiorespiratory fitness. If you’ve reached your body goal, high-intensity exercises should ensure you maintain your ideal healthy weight.

6. Lower Risk Of Mortality

If you’re hoping to live a longer and healthier life, it may be best if you start doing vigorous exercises regularly. According to this study, people who have been doing high-intensity exercises regularly for more than six years have a lower risk of mortality compared to people who do lower-intensity to no exercise at all. However, make sure your high-intensity exercise is also paired with a nutritious diet and good sleep as these things may also aid in keeping you healthy for longer. 

The Bottom Line 

Now that you know of the potential benefits you can reap from doing high-intensity exercises, you may decide it’s time to adjust your current exercise routine. However, before you elevate any of your workouts, make sure you’re physically capable of doing strenuous exercises. As much as it’s beneficial to one’s health, it’s not always for everyone. If you want to be sure, you can consult your doctor first and see if you’re perfectly capable of performing strenuous exercises.