I was hired to speak at an organizational in-service training a few weeks ago.  During the Q&A I was asked, “What is your number one piece of fitness advice?”  My answer?  Regular physical activity; everything else is gravy.

I stumbled upon an interesting statistic yesterday.  Women who exercise three or more times per week earn 10% more than their “couch-potato colleagues.”  The theory is that exercise makes people more productive, and therefore, more likely to enjoy financial gain.  However, increased earning power is only the tip of the iceberg where the benefits of physical activity are concerned.  Here are nine more reasons why “When you’re moving, you’re improving”:

• Physical activity helps to ward off life threatening illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
• Regular exercise improves cognitive performance, memory and creativity.
• Movement helps reduce stress.
• Exercise improves mood and reduces depression.
• Regular physical activity increases one’s energy.
• Exercise helps you sleep better.
• Working out improves confidence, body image, and self esteem.
• Exercise reduces susceptibility to chemical addiction.
• Regular physical activity helps to control your weight.

So there you have it.  Regular physical activity makes you look good and feel good – if they sold that in a bottle, we’d all be skinny and live to 100.  So get up and get active already.  It’ll do you a world of good!