May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and whether you hit the trail or the gym, doctors say it's important to keep moving and to exercise.

Candice Poole and Emmett Ballard are both personal trainers who love hitting the gym.

"It's been for me the last couple of years that i've really and a passion for fitness, and it's become a lifestyle for me,” said Poole.

For Ballard, as his love of fitness grew, so did his confidence. "I grew up as a smaller kid, I graduated high school at about 120, so 120 pounds soaking wet, so I was a little guy, not very much confidence,” said Ballard.

But, it's not just about confidence, it's also about physical health. The CDC says more than one-third of adults in the United States are obese, which can impact someone's heart and increase risk of diabetes. "There are a whole host of benefits we see with regular exercise. Improved sleep, mental health, decreased heart disease, we lower the risk of diabetes if we’re physically active. For older adults, it helps with balance, to prevent falls and it can even help with cognition, with how they think, to think more clearly,” said Dr. Warren.

Novant Health's Dr. Eric Warren says it's important to get exercise into your weekly routine."The recommendation for adults is two and a half hours a week of moderate aerobic exercise and then two muscle strengthening activites a week, so lifting weights of some sort to help the major muscle groups,” said Dr. Warren.

But, it's not just the muscles that can benefit from exercise. "We know that weight-bearing exercise improves bone strength which lowers the risk of osteoporosis or osteopenia, what we call "brittle bones," and so for improved bone health, we want people having weight bearing exercise, as part of what they're doing regularly,” said Dr. Warren.

Poole and Ballard agree; staying active in key to a healthier life. "For me, it's a combination of working out and eating right; if I don't eat right, I'm not going to want to work out,” said Poole.

 

Ballard believes being active can lead to a longer life, saying, “that couch is a slow death; without any physical activity , you're dying a slow death; the more active you become, the more vibrant, you'll feel, the more energy you'll have."