Exercise Will Save You Money, according to this study

Before I started Heroes Fitness, I worked in a corporate gym. We underwent sales training that felt scammy and "used car salesman-ish" to me. Part of that was having rebuttals to the most common objection, which is when people say they don't have enough money. But according to this 5-year long study in posted in September, maybe they were on to something.

This study took 64 people aged 53 (+/-2) who were considered to be overweight. Half of the people exercised, and the other half were the control group. The goal was to see how much money people would save on medicine with the implementation of exercise. The language used in the paper is difficult to understand when it comes to how often they actually exercised.

After 5 years, the control group's use of medicine increased 60%, and the cost increased 74%. The number of medications in the control group increased by 89%, compared to 17% increase in the group who exercised.

As far as I'm concerned, there's reasons far more important than saving money to start working out such as reducing joint pains down the line, having a healthy heart, and the benefits exercise has on my mental health. Writing this now, I realize that all of these things go hand in hand. Having joint pain means a visit to the doctor. Having cardiovascular issues means a visit to the doctor. Having depression means a visit to the doctor.

On top of that, physicians, on average, spent 13-24 minutes with each patient. I personally don't believe that is enough time to truly help people with their aches and pains. Insurance companies focus on treatment rather than prevention (check out this article on CDC.gov). Pharmaceutical companies care more about profits than helping people.

In my eyes, the best thing you can do is take as much control as you can over your health, and that starts with exercise and better nutrition decisions. And if you need help, I'm right here for you!