Exercises That Benefit the Integumentary System

Aging, pregnancy, weight gain or loss, hormone fluctuations, and certain medical conditions can change the condition of the body's largest organ, the skin. Collectively known as the integumentary system, skin and its hair, nails, follicles, and glands, make up 12 to 15 percent of a body's total weight. Exercises made for the integumentary system help restore its once-youthful tautness and health.

Exercise Benefits

• Exercise is good for the entire body, even the skin. Exercise increases circulation, which keeps skin cells full of nutrients from the bloodstream, helping it make collagen, which improves its appearance and reduces wrinkles. Exercise moderates hormones in the body, especially the stress-related hormone levels that can cause acne. This hormone regulation can also help slow hair loss.

  Regular exercise creates more sweat, which keeps pores flushed and unclogged, especially when there's plenty of hydration in the body to keep toxins moving out through the skin. That's one reason why drinking plenty of water is important during exercise. Pollutants from the environment, smoking, or eating junk food enter the body and those toxins affect the integumentary system as well. Aerobic exercise, combined with proper hydration and nutrition, helps flush those toxins.

Exercises to Reduce Cellulite

• Exercises that pull and stretch the muscles help dissolve cellulite, the puckering pockets of fat that forms on thighs and other parts of the body. Exercises such as pilates, yoga, or weight-lifting build lean muscle, burn fat and tighten the skin's connective tissues, all of which reduce the appearance of cellulite. Stretching the muscles helps the skin attached to them appear firmer as well.

Exercises for Facial Skin

• All exercises that benefit the integumentary system will indirectly benefit the look of facial skin, and help reverse the aging process. This includes muscle toning and aerobic exercise for the body, but exercises geared specifically to tone facial muscles are a gimmick. Experts believe that any devices designed for exercising facial muscles give temporary results at best, and may actually cause more wrinkles in the long run. According to Audrey Kunin, MD, a dermatologist and author of The DERMAdoctor Skinstruction Manual, "It's not the muscles on the face that keep skin taut, it's the fat content underneath the skin that keeps your face looking young. You cannot sculpt a cheek bone like you build a bicep."

  In general, eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water, and performing aerobic and muscle-toning and -stretching exercises give the entire integumentary system what it needs, helping skin look healthier, less acne-prone, firmer, and younger. There are no shortcuts to better health or healthier skin.