National Fitness Day: Why increasing your exercise is good for your health

National Fitness Day occurs each year during the first Saturday of May.

It helps millions of people across the world to develop physical routine habits to improve their overall health. 

Exercise is an essential activity that benefits your cardiovascular health and mental health — and strengthens your body's bones and muscles. 

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Read below to learn how maintaining a regular fitness routine will benefit your physical and mental well-being.

One of the most important activities, besides eating a healthy diet, that you can do for your heart is exercising on a regular basis by going to the gym or outdoors — and keeping your body active. 

By regularly engaging in physical activity for an hour or more a day, you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease or developing a stroke. 

Cardio exercise is especially important to factor into your daily fitness habit because it will help strengthen your heart and lungs. 

Meanwhile, aerobic exercise is also effective because it improves the circulation of blood in your body, which can help lower your blood pressure and heart rate. These forms of exercise are quite simple to do, depending on your age or weight, and include running, swimming, jog walking, cycling, playing tennis and mountain climbing. 

An active lifestyle involving these exercises can also help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. 

If you or a loved one are experiencing issues with blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol, exercise is one of the best treatments. 

When the human body is exercising, it pulls oxygen out of the blood, thus reducing the amount of blood that is being pumped to the heart towards the muscles. 

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Individuals who struggle with depression and other mental health issues should consider treatments outside medicine. While therapy and medicine are excellent treatments to help improve an individual's mental well-being, regular exercise or physical activity is also good for the mind as well as the body. 

It can potentially reduce the risk of depression, anxiety and stress while improving your overall mood. 

When you are involved in intense exercise, the chemicals inside your brain that are important to your mental state change, including your endorphins, stress hormones and serotonin. Health experts recommend that adults should aim to be moderately active for two to five hours a day and factor in intense physical activity at least two hours per week. 

However, depending on your work life and health, you should exercise for the amount of time that best suits you. 

Additionally, your mental health can improve through moderate to intense exercise because it can distract you from negative or anxious thoughts. You can also use exercise to try new things and meet people outside your social circle. 

Finally, one of the most essential elements to good mental health is sleep; regular exercise can improve it. 

As individuals age, their bones and muscles become weaker from general old age and a sedentary lifestyle. However, physical activity can help increase your bone density and strengthen your essential muscles. 

Consider lifting some weights or doing a medium amount of pushups on National Fitness Day to keep your bones healthy. Healthy and strong bones can reduce the risk of injuries or fractures as well as muscle pain. 

On top of a regular exercise routine, to help keep your bones and muscles healthy, individuals should also maintain a balanced diet that includes a lot of proteins and vitamin D.