Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Physical Fitness

According to The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), around 28% of Americans are physically inactive.

Let's face it, we tend to shirk physical activity or exercise every time the opportunity arises. We do not hesitate to throw some frivolous excuse in order to skip exercise. This negative attitude towards physical activity stems from the belief that one has to spend hours in the gym to improve overall health.

However, exercise is considered to be a natural antidepressant, and it can be a fun activity that can uplift your mind and body. Moreover, it is one activity that you can really enjoy. So, here is a little bit of motivation, to lead a healthier lifestyle, by presenting a few fun fitness facts.

• If you are able to keep your conversation going while doing a workout, it means you are not exercising at a high intensity.
• There is no such thing as 'ideal time' for exercise. Exercise is beneficial no matter what time of the day you choose to do it.

• Your daily workout need not be structured. In order to stay healthy, you just need to be consistent in whatever type of exercise you do.

• Men who exercise with their counterparts tend to stay motivated and workout with heavier weights. To put it simply, weight training with your female partner is sure to give excellent results.
• Studies suggest that whenever you walk for an hour, you add 2 hours to your life expectancy. No wonder, it is said that walk a mile daily to be healthy and fine.

• If you have a sedentary spouse, there is a high probability that you too will remain sedentary. Another study has shown that if your partner is leading an active lifestyle, there is an 85% chance that you too will lead an active lifestyle.

• It is a myth that if you stop exercising, the gained muscle mass turns into fat. Muscle and fat are two different tissues that cannot transform from one tissue type to another.
• As exercise builds muscle mass and burns extra fat, one can still gain weight despite losing fat.

• Exercise helps to uplift one's mood as it stimulates the production of endorphins, commonly known as the happy hormones, in the body.
• People who exercise are in good shape and tend to share healthier relationships with their partners, kids, and co-workers.

• While exercising outdoors, we tend to face resistance from environmental factors like wind, heat, and cold. This is not the case with a gym that provides a controlled environment. Hence, outdoor exercise tends to slash more calories as compared to an indoor workout.

• A 5-10 minute warm up session raises metabolic rate, which promotes better oxygen delivery and utilization to the working muscles. No wonder, a warm up provides superior muscle control while exercising.

• Dancing is a fun gym-free activity to boost your heart health. The wide range of movements associated with dancing can certainly provide cardiovascular benefits.
• A vigorous workout can cause substantial loss of body fluids. So, it is essential to drink water before, during, and after exercise to keep yourself well-hydrated.

• Genetically, women do not have the capacity to develop a bulky muscular body as they have very less testosterone―the hormone needed to develop large bulky muscles.
• Muscle tissue is found to be 3 times more effective in burning calories than fat tissue. This is because muscle cells utilize much more calories than fat cells, even at rest.

• The working of muscle tissue is highly dependent on the fluid levels in them. Even a small drop in fluid levels can reduce its performance considerably. It is observed that while exercising, if a muscle loses just 3% of its fluids, its strength reduces by 10%.

• A really good laugh uses face and abdominal muscles as well as increases heart rate. In fact, laughing 100 times a day is equivalent to riding an exercise bike for 15 minutes.
• An average individual will have walked around 70,000 miles till he reaches old age.

• According to the American Council on Exercise, calorie deficit obtained by engaging in 60 minutes of inline skating or running is more or less the same.
• In case, you are not exercising daily, you may lose up to 80% of your muscle strength by the time you reach the age of 65.

• Being thin does not mean that the body fat percentage is always normal. It is not the weight but the amount of fat that matters the most. So, people with healthy weight, can still have high body fat percentage, which can be detrimental to the health.

• According to a research, people who consume alcoholic beverages half an hour, prior to their meal eat more calories. So, one can conclude that drinking alcohol before meals helps increase appetite.

• Tomato ketchup is more effective in warding off heart ailments than fresh tomatoes. Lycopene, a compound that boosts heart health, is found in tomatoes. However, this compound is better absorbed when it is present in ketchup.

• Although yogurt is considered to be a diet food, one should avoid Greek yogurt when dieting as it is found to be high in fats.
• Drinking beer in moderation can also help boost bone health. This is because beer contains dietary mineral silicon that helps strengthen the bones.

• To utter a single word, body uses about 70 muscles. A smile uses 17 muscles, whereas about 42 muscles are required to frown.
• If all the nerves in the human body are joined together, they would cover a distance of 45 miles.
• During normal breathing, on an average, a person uses 7 quarts of air per minute.
• A one-minute French kiss can burn around 26 calories.

• Of the 206 bones found in the human body, 52 bones are located in the feet.
• You cannot keep your eyes open while sneezing.
• A man's heart can beat almost 6 beats per minute slower than a woman's heart.
• Fingernails can grow up to 4 times faster than toenails. The middle fingernail grows at the fastest rate.

• A given quantity of blood pumped from the heart requires only about 23 seconds to complete a round of the circulatory system.
• The right lung is slightly larger than the left lung. This is because the left lung makes space for the heart in the chest.
• The food swallowed after chewing takes 7 seconds to reach the stomach.

• When the urinary bladder is completely full, it is inflated to the size of a soft ball, which is slightly larger than a cricket ball.
• Every time you gain a pound of fat, there is addition of 7 new miles of blood vessels to your body.

• The brain receives electrical signals from the nervous system at very high speeds that can reach up to 200 miles per hour. Also, every second the brain gets flooded with 100 million nerve signals that are relayed from the sensory organs.