Benefits of Exercise for your Skin

Working out is key to physical health, a fit body, mental clarity, and self-love. And while working out may thought of as something to keep in shape and feel healthier, it also provides numerous benefits for your skin. Your skin is exposed to free radicals in the air, sun exposure, and makeup can that clog your pores to the point of damaging your skin via acne or dullness. An increased heart rate and sweating naturally open your pores and release toxins, while also increasing blood flow to improve circulation and the delivery of more nutrients throughout your body.

The benefits of exercise, however, can be detrimental to your complexion if you don’t also prepare your body and your skin for your exercise session. While you may think working out with makeup on is okay, it really isn’t—makeup clogs your pores once it mixes with your sweat and oil, so be sure to remove makeup before you work out. Lancer Makeup Removing Wipes are individually packaged and can perfectly fit into your purse or gym bag. And once you’re done with your workout, make sure to shower off and wash your face using The Lancer Method. It may be tempting to simply wipe down your face or splash water on it after your workout, but you’re actually allowing toxins, sweat, and perhaps residual hair products to sit on your skin. The Lancer Method works perfectly for the shower, since The Method: Polish can thoroughly be cleansed off with the first rinse, while The Method: Cleanse can rid skin of lingering exfoliation debris and dead skin cells. We also provide the Lancer Method in travel sizes in case you want to use them immediately after your workout.

Workouts for Your Face

Just like you can target specific body parts, such as the glutes with donkey kicks, you can also target the skin with special workouts. Celebrity trainer Dalton Wong was featured in The Telegraph discussing his methods for “working out the face.” By increasing lean muscle mass and building up muscle, you can reverse some signs of aging in the face according to Wong. Lean muscle mass is directly beneath facial skin, and toning it via resistance training can make it appear plumper.

You may have also heard of “face yoga,” and while it can look silly, some experts swear by the results. Time Magazine reports that it can tighten and tone by focusing on critical facial muscles and learning strategies to prevent wrinkling. Poses similar to Lion’s Breath, making a fish face, directed eye movements, and raising your eyebrows may all help your face look more youthful.

Turn Up the Heat for Gorgeous Skin

If you prefer to exercise in the great outdoors, especially if you’re on vacation in paradise, some extra measures are required. Sun exposure can damage and age the skin no matter how intense it is, but direct heat and being closer to the equator (common traits of many vacation spots) can be even more damaging. Use Sheer Fluid Sun Shield SPF 30 any time you are exposed to the sun, and re-apply liberally every two hours.

What’s the Best Workout for Your Skin?

While you may think that you need to work up a sweat and feel sore the next day to achieve the benefits of exercise, you actually don’t. Exercise feels more beneficial when you actually enjoy what you are doing. If you don’t have a lot of time, then you may want to find an activity that fits into your schedule; for example, shoveling snow for 15 minutes is equivalent to walking for 2 miles in 30 minutes! If your aim is to burn fat, you will want a long, slow workout since that is the most effective.

It may seem strange, but while exercising relieves mental stress, you are engaging in physically stressing your body out. Strenuous exercise triggers the same hormonal cascade as stress does, causing your body to produce more free radicals when you exert yourself, which causes your skin to age. To avoid the stressful state of exercise, be aware of your limits. Exercises like brisk walks, yoga, Pilates, stretching, and reasonable weight resistance training are good for the skin because they increase circulation but do not push metabolism to an extreme that produces stress. But again, that doesn’t mean that you can’t engage in more strenuous activity like mountain climbing or kickboxing—just be aware of your body’s limits, and allow your body to rest and recover by engaging in lower-stress activities if you feel like being active every day.

Exercise allows your skin an energetic rush as it rids itself of toxins, becomes toned, and has a healthy, natural post-workout glow. After you exercise, be sure to replenish yourself with plenty of water, and then provide your skin with its own drink of anti-aging ingredients through the thorough polishing, cleansing, and nourishing power of The Lancer Method.

Source: Roos, S. “Workout and diet secrets of top fitness coaches.” The Telegraph. (2013). January 7.

Source: Time Magazine Staff. “Facial Yoga.” Time Magazine. < http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1683326_1484581,00.html>.

Source: CDC Staff. “Skin Cancer.” CDC. (2015). July 21. < http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/>