What is movement? Movement includes any kind of physical activity. It includes walking, running, doing chores, exercising, shopping, weight training, sprinting to the train…. you name it. Why should you exercise more, you may ask? Regular exercise contributes, among other things, to good health, strong bones and a healthy weight.

1. Exercise to burn calories
   Exercise makes you burn calories. This is essential if you want to lose weight. Sustainable weight loss is achieved through a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise. For example, go for a walk every evening after dinner. Or why not book a walking holiday instead of a beach holiday? You can see a lot and be active at the same time!
2. Speed up your metabolism
   More exercise helps you burn more calories. You develop more muscle mass and your condition improves. Your body adapts to this by functioning in a higher gear. It learns to use the food you consume more efficiently and effectively. Speeding up your metabolism is also a very good way to lose weight or to keep your body weight stable.
3. Exercise improves the way you feel
   Exercise dramatically improves your mood and reduces stress. It relaxes you and makes you sleep better. When you exercise more, your body also produces more of its own neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters largely determine how you feel. Fortunately, you can influence these substances yourself.
4. Physical activity is simply very healthy
   Exercise not only has a positive effect on your weight, but also on your heart, your blood circulation, your blood pressure, your immune system and even on your memory. Moreover, exercise slows down the ageing process. So you stay young for longer.
5. Improve your thinking skills
   Not just your muscles, but your brain, too, will benefit from regular exercise. Intensive exercise improves blood circulation. So there is also more oxygen in your brain. The more oxygen in your brain, the better your brain can function.
6. Burn fat
   By exercising more you immediately burn more calories. Even after exercising you will continue to burn extra calories for several hours. Your body is recovering and that costs energy.
   Your muscle mass also increases and muscles need more calories to function. One kilogram of body fat requires about 9 kilocalories per day. But a kilo of muscle needs up to 90 kilocalories to function.
7. Satisfied with your body
   It seems that exercising gives you a more positive body image and therefore more self-confidence. You start to look at your body differently. Instead of seeing how it looks, you start to see how it can be.
8. Less stress and worry
   By exercising more intensively, your body will produce endorphins and dopamine. These are neurotransmitters. These substances give you a euphoric and good feeling, which makes you better able to deal with stress and worries. It’s like a homemade, natural drug.
9. Exercise frees you from dips
   Intensive exercise can reduce feelings of depression. Your body produces phenylethylamine during exercise. Exercise rapidly increases the levels of this substance.
10. Exercise keeps your bones healthy
    The density of your bones decreases after 30, making them increasingly brittle. Exercise can help counteract this. After all, in order to become and remain strong, it is important to put regular strain on your bones.
11. Exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
    Regular exercise has a preventive effect on the main causes of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and the risk of diabetes 2. Regular exercise also has a positive effect on your cholesterol balance and reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis.

Reasons enough to exercise more, right?