Sweat Out Your Toxins
Our bodies are incredibly well designed and generally very efficient at eliminating toxins and maintaining health, but we are also amazingly good at overloading it.
Whether you are focusing on relieving your body of the burden of cigarettes, alcohol, meat, sugars, caffeine, free radicals, heavy metals, stress hormones, illicit or pharmaceutical drugs or environmental pollutants, exercise is necessary for the detoxification systems to function at their peak.
Lack of exercise will lead to sluggish digestion. An optimal digestion is the key for healthy liver.
Even extremely low-impact exercises such as tai chi, walking and deep breathing can be extremely beneficial in stimulating the body to cleanse itself.
Better circulation equals better health.
Blood flow carries nutrients and ample amounts of oxygen to the body, while the lymphatic system carries away destructive toxins.
The consequence of a sluggish lymphatic system is that you cannot detoxify properly. The contraction of the muscles and motion of the limbs stimulates the flow of the blood and lymph, sweeping toxins on its way.
Perspiration — getting the most from your third kidney
Sweating is another natural way the body flushes out toxins and waste.
The skin is our largest organ of elimination and one of the first places that our body tries to utilize to remove toxins.
To improve elimination through the skin, regular exercise and hydration are the keys to stimulating sweating.
Toxic waste that is excreted through sweating takes pressure off the kidneys and other elimination channels.
Breathing detox
Through exercise, the body increases the respiration rate. This brings more oxygen to the body, takes away metabolic wastes and helps balance the pH.
Oxygen is one of the most important nutrients in the human body.
Breathing is essential to detox. It brings vital oxygen to our cells, clears the lungs, helps ward off stress and get the toxins out through exhalation.
If we don’t breathe right, we limit our oxygen supply, which has a direct impact on our energy levels and our body’s ability to detox naturally.
Strong muscles in the abdomen and pelvis also help to ensure the bowel empty efficiently.
A variety of exercise styles can aid the gastrointestinal tract in digesting food and removing waste — these include abdominal strengtheners such as Pilates and sit-ups, twisting stretches that massage the internal organs and bouncing activities such as trampolining, which encourages organs and muscles to release fluids and free up tensions.
10 Exercises To Help You Detox
1. Walking
Though it may be considered a mild form of exercise, a gentle walk is the ideal activity to do during a detox. A brisk 30- to 45-minute walk, especially on a warm day and in hilly areas, can certainly stoke a sweat-inducing fire.
2. Running
Running exercises the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, boosting body's temperature and encouraging a good sweat.
Running in the great outdoors also offers the opportunity to get fresh air circulating, but for city-bound joggers, the risk of ingesting air pollution can counteract the detox effect.
3. Swimming
Swimming is particularly good for a detox as it boosts blood circulation and at the same time, the lymph is also being encouraged to flow by the external massaging actions of the water waves. It is as very relaxing and therapeutic as well as being a great muscle conditioner.
However, swimming pools are generally heavily chlorinated and the body may absorb some amounts of chlorine, increasing its toxic load.
Swimming in non-polluted ocean water capitalises on the detoxifying benefits of swimming as well as some added bonus effects. The naturally occurring salts in seawater can also help to replace nutrients and minerals lost through sweating.
4 .Cycling
Cycling is a great way to cleanse and detox and is extremely efficient, low-impact, aerobic forms of exercise.
5. Yoga
Stretches help massage the internal organs, which can be beneficial for the digestion process.
Engage in abdomen-twisting exercises, like Pilates or Yoga, first thing in the morning to encourage waste and bowel elimination.
By boosting circulation and metabolism through deep breathing and yoga postures, yoga accelerates the result of any detoxification program.
6. Deep breathing exercises with strong exhalation can empty the lungs of carbon dioxide and allow for a fresh breath of more oxygenated air, that will nourish the cells.
Breathing techniques enhance your body’s ability to eliminate toxins because detoxification is directly related to the delivery of oxygen to cells and the removal of carbon dioxide. To aid digestion, take a few deep breaths before each meal.
7. Rebounding is great for a cleanse/detox. One-hour on a rebounder will burn more calories than the same person jogging for an hour!
8. Try skipping and jumping rope as your rebounding exercise, if you don't have a trampoline.
9. Abdominal exercises
Crunches and sit-ups strengthen the muscles around the key elimination organs: stomach, colon and intestines. So when it comes to helping your body move waste, rippled abs aren’t just for show.
10. Dance your way to good health
Dancing will get the entire body moving, encouraging lymph circulation and increasing body temperature to induce perspiration.
Listen to your body!
There is no one type of exercise that is ideal for detoxification purposes because all exercise can have this benefit.
Extreme exercise programme while you are on a detox program, could release more toxins than your body is able to cope with, making you feel quite unwell.
Choose something you enjoy, in the knowledge that that regular exercise will help you look and feel better and ensure that your body has the elements it needs to detox and heal itself naturally.
Finding a physical activity that is enjoyable is the most important factor in detoxifying the body through exercise.
The key to detoxification is consistency. Consistent activity will prevent toxic build up and promote a sense of well being.
Further reading:
- Supercharge Your Detox with Super Greens
- How To Detox With Food
- What's Your Toxic Body Burden – Take the Quiz