This is not the first time you’ve heard this, is it? There are only benefits for your health if you do sports regularly, for your body as well as for your mind.

You don’t need to kill yourself in the gym or run a marathon if you’re not physically prepared. All you have to do is get active, move and do some kind of physical activity, the one that you like most and best suits your abilities, at least twice a week.

Would you like us to remind you what’s so good about doing sport?

• It improves your muscle strength and builds muscle mass. This helps increase your stamina and reduces muscular fatigue.
• It improves your balance, and thus helps reduce the risk of injury.
• It improves blood circulation and reduces the risk of having blood clots and varicose veins.
• It lowers blood pressure and, with it, the risk of heart disease.
• It improves bone density, and thus helps prevent osteoporosis.
• It helps you slim and keep the required weight.
• It improves your breathing and tissue oxygenation.
• It activates your metabolism and accelerates it, which is why it helps burn calories.

All of this refers to physical aspects. At the psychological level, there are as many or even more benefits:

• It improves self-esteem which makes you feel better.
• It relieves stress.
• It helps reduce general pain, because endorphins also have an analgesic effect.
• It improves your capacity to concentrate and focus and this also affects your work life.
• It helps you sleep better. As it releases your tension, it helps you fall asleep faster.
• It helps you socialize. Playing team sports or taking a lesson with a group will make you feel part of something and you can make new friends.
• It will help you out of a bad mood and make you less aggressive.
• It helps you control melancholy and get over depression.

In order for you to actually benefit fully, physical exercise should be something habitual. Start by going out for a walk at a moderate pace and then go running two days a week. Or join a Zumba lesson, or a fitness lesson if you prefer going to the gym.