Guest blogger Chris Nasti, Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness with DePaul?s Campus Recreation, shares some of the less well-known benefits of exercise. Want to hear more about fitness and wellness? Join Chris, as well as Registered Dietitian Andrea Rudser-Rusin, at the Office Fitness & Nutrition Lunch & Learn on Tuesday, November 13. Visit Campus Connect to register!
For years, we have been told the many physical benefits of exercise. Exercise improves your heart health, protects against many forms of cancer, increases your strength and endurance, helps manage body composition? the list goes on and on. What we have heard less about is that exercise also provides a plethora of benefits for your mental and emotional well-being.
As we juggle the many commitments of work, family, and social life, it can be easy to dismiss exercise as a luxury we do not have time for. However, exercise has repeatedly been shown to have positive short- and long-term benefits on our cognition and memory. Participants have been shown to score higher on memory and math tests during and immediately after exercise. And the benefits can last hours! Adding a workout before work or during your lunch break can provide that extra spark to improve your work or academic performance.
Sounds great! So what?s the best type of workout?
Any exercise that you will find enjoyable enough to do on a regular basis. A lot of us think of exercise as running on a treadmill. If you find that fun, that?s great. However, heading up to the basketball courts, playing racquetball, lifting weights or going to a fitness class all provide both physical and mental benefits. It?s more important to participate in any exercise on a regular basis than to do the ?perfect exercise? occasionally.
No really, what?s the best type of workout?
If you really want to maximize your mental benefits, you will want to find something that combines aerobic activity (something that elevates your heart rate) with some kind of skill or balance challenge. So, basketball, racquetball, and group fitness classes are great examples of activities that combine those two elements. However, you don?t need to do the aerobic exercise and skill-based exercise at the same time. Jogging on a treadmill for 15 minutes to elevate your heart rate and then lifting weights or taking a yoga class is another excellent option.
Ok, but I don?t have a gym membership?
No problem! There are plenty of other options. Wake up early and head to the Lakefront trail for a jog or bike ride. Go for a walk with friends or coworkers during your lunch break. Take some time after work to play a sport with your kids. Or, join an intramural league and challenge the students. Also, did you know that DePaul faculty and staff can purchase a single entry pass at the Ray Meyer for only $6? We have excellent locker rooms and private showers to make the morning workout option even easier.
Looking for more information? Join us Tuesday, November 13, from 11:30am-1pm at the DePaul Student Center, Room 314A ? LPC. Chris Nasti, Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness, and Andrea Rudser-Rusin, Registered Dietitian, from Campus Recreation will be presenting on Office Fitness and Nutrition. Learn how to eat healthy at work and exercises that you can do without leaving your office!
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Source: http://employeelearningatdepaul.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/work-harder-and-smarter/
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