Enduring the Pain of Exercise.

Over the years I have heard that many people don't like working out because it hurts. It is something that I haven't been able to relate to because it is such a part of me to work out that I accept the pain. Recently, however, I had to stop exercising for almost two months (I haven't done this in ???) due to tendonitis and a sinus infection. Upon returning to my work outs I noticed how much it hurts!!
Here's the thing, though. I also noticed that while I had to endure the pain doing my kung fu, cardio or weight training I also began to fell so much better for the rest of the day. My body was more energized and alive. I felt stronger, tighter and my mind was clearer. My attention was more focused and I was able to concentrate much better. This isn't to say that you ignore ALL pain- If you are injured, stop!
To me this was almost a revelation since I had, almost, taken for granted how much exercise does this. I just never paid attention to it. Those of you who don't like the pain...get over it. Bear with it and you will reap many benefits that are far beyond the hour (or so) of pain that you might endure. It is called a work out for a reason- If it were easy everybody would be extremely fit!

Exercise Against Heart Disease and Cancer

More Clues on How Exercise Can Protect Against Diseases of Aging

Research suggests another avenue by which exercise guards against heart disease and cancer: telomeres

By Katherine Hobson

December 1, 2009 - U.S. News & World Report

Exercise can't stop the years from ticking by, but it certainly appears to protect against some of the diseases of aging. The latest evidence: a new study showing that the white blood cells of endurance athletes had longer telomeres, the tiny, protective units of DNA that cap the end of chromosomes like plastic shoestring tips and grow shorter as cells age. The study, published online by Circulation, may explain how exercise can protect against two big killers: heart disease and cancer. "Younger" white blood cells may be able to more efficiently clear out both abnormal cells that may progress to cancer and the plaques implicated in heart disease.

The exercise-heart disease connection is commonly known. Fewer people know that exercise appears to prevent at least some kinds of cancer—predominantly a disease of aging. Scientists have their eyes on several mechanisms, including changes to a number of hormones that are essential to the body but also can fuel cancer growth, says Stephen Hursting, chair of the division of nutritional sciences at the University of Texas-Austin. Caloric restriction can reduce those growth signals and so—though probably by a different route—can exercise, he says. Inflammation and immunity are also thought to play a role in cancer, and exercise seems to tamp down the one and boost the other.

Moreover, specific cancers are uniquely affected by exercise. The reason the odds of colon cancer, for example, are reduced by exercise is probably that it decreases the amount of time food spends in the digestive system, lessening contact between the gut and carcinogens in food. It's thought that breast cancer is encouraged by both inflammation and estrogen exposure, says Christine Friedenreich, leader of population health research at the Alberta Cancer Board in Canada. Exercise cuts the amount of estrogen circulating in the system and may cause changes in the menstrual cycle that reduce exposure to the hormone over many months or years. (One note on cancer and exercise: It's not entirely clear how much of its positive effects are attributable to its melting away of body fat, so you're wise to focus on losing weight as well.)

Somehow, exercise also seems to preserve brain function as you age, too. There's evidence from animal studies that exercise may help generate new neurons, which may give your brainpower a boost, says Arthur Kramer, a neuroscientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Vigorous activity also may contribute to the creation of new blood vessels in the brain that help forge connections between neurons. It appears, Kramer says, that exercise not only slows negative changes to the brain but also gives you some cognitive reserves, so that even if the plaques implicated in Alzheimer's disease do appear, they don't have the same impact that they would in a couch potato.