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By Collin Elder

Back to school, lack of time and record heat might cause most people to put exercise “on the shelf.”

Carl Woods, director of Wellness and Recreation at Georgia Gwinnett College, said it’s crucial to keep exercising. Woods cites three reasons why working out keeps your body working.

It reduces the occurrence of illness

“The U.S. physical activity guidelines and the American Heart Association recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity weekly,” said Woods. “This means that people need physical activity more than ever, as symptoms of heart disease, cancer and dementia can all develop when a person lives a more sedentary lifestyle.”

Woods said diabetes is directly correlated with those sedentary lifestyles. Diabetes is the among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States and has more than doubled in case count in the last 20 years, made even worse by the fact that these numbers may be underreported. People are living longer, and with that comes decreased exercise, which increases the risks of diabetes.

“Working out for 150 minutes a week is extremely important to prevent things like diabetes,” said Woods.

It improves mental wellness

Woods said the benefits of physical activity affect mental wellness. The “runner’s high” or Schwarzenegger’s “pump” mentality shows the emotional and mental benefit to working out regularly. The chemicals in our brains provide special responses to repeated exercise. This benefit is shown most of all in the treatment of mental wellness issues, like depression or anxiety.

“Taking up exercise seems to reduce the risk of mental illness,” said Woods. “Looking forward, it’s especially important we get in the habit of working hard on ourselves.”

It improves your physical fitness

It’s important to keep a balance in mind, according to Woods. His ideal workout regimen combines aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises increase oxygen intake over extended periods of time and include walking, running or swimming. Anaerobic exercises involve doing things without large increases in oxygen intake and over short bursts, like lifting weights or stretching.

“Working hard on losing weight is one thing,” said Woods, “but the goal is to alter how your body works.” Cardio is a great way to get those pesky inches off your waist, but the physical activities can impact things like the muscle’s tension on your bones.

Looking at common health problems, Woods said that there’s a need to stretch and flex muscles in the hips for people with desk jobs, as sitting for long periods of time can lead to osteoarthritis, especially in women. Getting those 150 minutes a week is more important now than it ever has been, with the huge boom of desk and remote jobs hitting the market.

“But don’t get locked down on the idea of working out for three hours every other day,” said Woods. “It’s best to create small, realistic goals for exercise. Ten minutes of walking through the office here, 20 minutes gardening in your backyard there, 15 minutes of yoga poses in the morning before work all add up to different areas that improve your quality of life.”

Woods said that even a minute of exercise a day is a minute toward improved wellness. Toward that end, Woods participated in a one-minute video, which demonstrates three simple exercises that can be done daily.