Getting enough exercise is certainly a key component of living a healthy lifestyle overall, and is something that is important for children and adults alike. Enough exercise on a day to day basis has a myriad of hugely important benefits, ranging from helping you to lose weight to helping you to gain strength. Having a regular exercise routine can even help to boost your mood considerably.
However, far too few people get the amount of exercise that they should. In fact, it has been estimated that only about one third of all people who are over the age of eighteen here in the United States are getting the weekly recommended amount of exercise. And only a shockingly small five percent of these same adults are getting thirty minutes of exercise per day, even just by walking.
This is leading to a growing crisis of health here in the United States as well as in many other varying places all throughout the world. In the United States alone, however, only about one third of the population is considered to be at a healthy weight for their age and for their height. For one third of the population, obesity is a very real thing that they are struggling with and the other one third of the population is considered to be overweight, though not yet medically classified as obese.
Obesity and the living of a sedentary lifestyle can have a number of profound health effects, especially over the course of time. For one, it can raise your risk of hypertension and high cholesterol levels. These can both raise your risk for major medical events like strokes and heart disease, two things that can alter the course of your life completely – or even end it right then and there.
On top of stroke and heart disease, obesity can all too easily lead to the condition of type 2 diabetes. Though type 2 diabetes can be reversed by the loss of weight and the taking up of a much healthier lifestyle, it can also progress to a very dangerous point. If not managed well, type 2 diabetes can become very severe and can even result in the loss of limbs and other such serious consequences. It can even lead to death, in cases where it is not managed in the way that it should be.
And getting a gym membership and starting to work out might seem easy, but it is often anything but. For many people, going to the gym simply does not fit into their already busy lifestyle. Going to the gym can be very expensive as well, especially when you don’t have a wide array of gyms to choose from in your area. On top of all of this, some people are simply very self conscious about using fitness equipment in front of other people, something that is simply unavoidable in any given gym setting.
Fortunately, the vast majority of exercise equipment can be found in your local sports stores. Sports stores and other such fitness stores can be ideal for finding home fitness equipment. Sports stores will provide you with access to much of the same things as a gym would, but with the benefits of being able to work out in your own home. Sports stores might even offer the option to have such premium fitness equipment installed in your home for free or for only just a small cost, making it ideal for many people.
Sports stores might also seem intimidating at first, but the salespeople will be very friendly in such sports stores and will be able to help you find the right gym equipment for your needs. Sports stores will also have, of course, a wide array of sporting goods, in case you are interested in taking up a recreational athletic hobby, such as golfing, playing tennis, or even running or swimming, as all are likely to be available at sports stores near you.
Taking the first step in leading a healthy lifestyle can certainly be difficult, there is absolutely no doubt about it. But sports stores near you can provide you with everything you need to make it happen in your life.