If you’re like most you probably want to look good. In today’s society looking good for men is different than for women. The ideal man is muscular while the ideal woman is skinny. Every day the social media, TV, magazines, and movies, parade these ideals before us as the sign of true beauty. In truth, an ideal body is a strong healthy body and that ideal is different for each one of us. So whether you are a man or a woman, this is what you should be striving for.

The fact is being too thin and having little muscle strength can lead to health problems. Your risk of anemia and bone loss may increase, as well as a chance of developing irregularities of your heart.

Exercise, a word that most Americans view as torment in their quest for a healthy body, now provides greater benefits besides strong muscles. A recent Newsweek article titled “Can Exercise Make you Smarter?” discussed current medical findings how exercise increases brainpower. The same can also be said of how exercise can have a positive affect on a person’s emotional state.

According to The National Institute on Mental Health, approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder. “Anxiety prevents us from being happy, can cause physical ailments, and keeps us from taking healthy risks that may improve the quality of our live, says Bob Livingstone, psychotherapist and founder of www.boblivingstone.com. “At the simplest level, we spend too much time worrying… and even moderate exercise can help reduce those feelings.” says Livingstone.