Nothing is safe from alternative facts ― even exercise.
According to Donald Trump, physical fitness is useless. As the Washington Post’s Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher wrote in their new book, Trump Revealed, Trump believes a sweat session actually does more harm than good:
After college, after Trump mostly gave up his personal athletic interests, he came to view time spent playing sports as time wasted. Trump believed the human body was like a battery, with a finite amount of energy, which exercise only depleted. So he didn’t work out.
The book also states that when Trump learned that one of his top casino executives, John O’Donnell, was in the midst of training for an Ironman Triathlon, Trump told him, “You are going to die young because of this.”
It’s obvious that this belief is completely untrue (not to mention the fact that golf, one of Trump’s favorite activities, is a form of exercise). But since the statement is out there, we’re here to reiterate a few life-saving benefits of physical activity.
Take a look at just some of the ways working out can help a person’s health below:
1. Physical activity boosts cardiovascular health.
Aerobic exercise, such as walking, biking, swimming or jogging, helps prevent heart disease, which is the nation’s leading cause of death among adults, according to the American Heart Association. People should aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to reap the benefits.
2. It helps maintain a healthy body weight.
Given that obesity is still slowly on the rise, this benefit is a big one. Regular exercise reduces body fat, fights against obesity and helps lower the risk of getting illnesses associated with obesity, like diabetes, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
3. Exercise lowers stress.
You know when you just need to blow off a little steam? That’s exactly when someone should pound the pavement or sign up for a class at the gym. Research shows exercise helps people cope with everyday worries and boosts mood. Even further, exercise may have the power to reverse damage to the brain caused by stressful events.
4. And it leads to a happiness boost.
Endorphins, which are little-but-mighty neurotransmitters in the brain, are released during bouts of exercise. Not only do they help increase happiness levels, they can also improve confidence and self-esteem, according to The Mayo Clinic.
5. Physical activity can make a person stronger.
Strong health starts with making the body stronger. Exercise helps with that by engaging muscles, improving joints and boosting endurance.
6. It improves longevity and lowers risk of disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, people who exercise may be at a lower risk for stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, cancer and arthritis (just to name a few).
Even just a little bit of exercise helps people live a longer life. Recent research shows that just an hour of brisk walking or 30 minutes of jogging or biking per week is enough to improve mortality rates.
7. Exercise helps you sleep better.
Running, biking, weightlifting, yoga and even gardening are associated with helping achieve better quality sleep than no exercise at all, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania. (And given that Trump says he only gets a few hours of sleep a night, this perk might be super useful.)
Just something to consider. Because the idea that exercise is terrible? It’s just...
