5 Best Workouts You Can Pair with the Mediterranean Diet to Maximize Its Health Benefits

Sure the Mediterranean has tons of health benefits, but did you know that if you don’t match it with physical activity, you will not get all those health benefits that it promises?

The human body is a bio-mechanical complex masterpiece and much like any other man-made engines, it has certain requirements for, say, a certain vitamin or mineral to get from Point A to Point B in order for the body to utilize it in the most efficient way. The best way for the body to process these nutrients and get the best health benefits is to do physical activities like exercise. Experts say there is no magic to exercise: You get out of it what you put in. That doesn’t mean you have to work out for hours each day. It just means you need to work smart.

Vitamins, minerals and amino acids that are crucial in providing the human body with energy supplements and other chemicals to help it function properly comes from the food that you eat and digest. This inundates your body with various health benefits that you need in order to survive. When you get proper nutrition, then your body will also function optimally and you are less likely to develop any chronic illnesses. Here are some great exercises that you can do in order to get the most out of the Mediterranean diet recipes you cook daily.

Walking and Its Health Benefits

Any exercise program should include 2 things:

• cardiovascular exercise (which strengthens the heart)
• burn calories

And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with almost no equipment (except for a good pair of shoes). It’s essentially the easiest workout routine that anyone can do and it has the best health benefits too! According to Robert Gotlin, DO, director of orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, a person can burn up to 500 calories per hour just by simply brisk walking. So, for example, you’ve had Kale and Butternut Squash Frittata for breakfast, then your body will get a substantial nutrients aside from the calories that comes with it. And since 90% of all Mediterranean diet recipes have unnoticeable calories, then they’ll simply burn up each time you do some physical activity – all the while the essential vitamins and minerals are carried through your bloodstream.

Interval Training Interval training can help boost your fitness level and help you lose weight whether you’re a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer. But beyond the superficial it also helps extract the nutrients from the food you ate by increasing your metabolism and you’ll get the added health benefits, especially if it’s a Mediterranean dish. For instance, you had Baba Ganoush earlier and you do interval training, then the health benefits you’ll get includes better digestion, improves heart health, my prevent cancer, improves bone health, prevents anemia and boost your cognitive abilities.

Squats Health experts say that the more muscular fitness you have the greater the capacity you have to burn calories – and this is achieved through squat exercises. Squats target multiple muscle groups at once, which include quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals. When you burn more calories, you not only burn the unwanted fats in your body, but also boost your metabolic rate and in turn help your body absorb more nutrients. So it stands to reason that doing squats will not only help you burn calories and strengthen your bones and muscles, but also give you some health benefits that your body needs.

Lunges Lunges are another type of workout that stimulates all the major muscles of the lower body including gluteals, quadriceps, and hamstrings. The basic principle of a lunge is very similar to walking, except that it exaggerates it a little bit, which helps you burn calories and strengthen your muscles. Like an automobile’s engine that gulps down fuel when it’s turned on, your body too will absorb the nutrients from the food you eat and enjoy the health benefits that comes with it.

Push-ups This exercise is very common even among ordinary people who rarely or don’t workout at all. It’s so simple that you can do it at home too! But if not done correctly, can rob you of the potential health benefits that’s crucial to maintaining a healthy body. Although when done properly can strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the core trunk muscles, all at the same time.

The Takeaway about the Health Benefits of Following the Mediterranean Diet and Living an Active Lifestyle

Basically while the human body is a machine, the nutrients from the food you eat is needed by your body for it to function properly. So be sure to follow the Mediterranean diet while living an active lifestyle in order for you to reap the health benefits appropriately. Food consumption and being physically active is an integral part of the human life cycle and we should adhere to it, so we can enjoy life altogether.