Glow as You Go: How Exercise Helps Your Skin
Levi Jensen, MS-II
Midwestern University,
Glendale, Arizona
Glow as You Go: How Exercise Helps Your Skin
Staying active isn’t just good for your heart and muscles—it’s also great for your skin. While most of us know that exercise helps with weight and mood, it also plays a powerful role in skin health.
In this post, we’ll break down how different types of exercise improve your skin—from making it firmer and more elastic to helping wounds heal faster.
Why Does Skin Matter?
Your skin does more than look good. It:
- Keeps germs out
- Regulates body temperature
- Helps make vitamin D
- Lets you feel touch and temperature
Because your skin is involved in so many jobs, keeping it healthy is important.
How Exercise Boosts Skin Health
Here’s what the science says about how physical activity helps your skin:
1. Improves Skin Elasticity
- Both aerobic (like walking, jogging, or swimming) and resistance training (like lifting weights) make your skin more elastic and firm. 1–3
- In one study, resistance training helped increase dermal thickness—the layer beneath your skin that keeps it strong and bouncy.4
2. Speeds Up Wound Healing
- People with leg ulcers who did walking and strength exercises healed faster and had better blood flow in the skin.4,5
- This means that movement may help skin repair itself faster, especially in older adults.
3. Boosts Blood Flow and Oxygen
- Aerobic exercise increases blood flow to your skin, bringing oxygen and nutrients that help it stay healthy.3–5
- Special training in low-oxygen environments (called hypoxia training) can also improve skin circulation over time.6
4. Reduces Inflammation
- Regular workouts lower harmful chemicals in the blood, like inflammatory signals, which are linked to skin aging and disease.
- One study found that after exercising for 16 weeks, participants had less skin inflammation and healthier skin structure.3,7
What Type of Exercise Is Best?
- Resistance training is best for building skin thickness and firmness. 3,4,8
- Aerobic exercise is better for improving blood flow and reducing age-related changes.1,6
- A mix of both is ideal!
Final Takeaway
Whether you're lifting weights or going for a walk, your skin feels the benefits. Exercise helps keep it firm, oxygenated, and resilient as you age. So next time you hit the gym or take the stairs, remember—your skin is thanking you.
References
- Knobloch K, Joest B, Vogt PM. Cellulite and extracorporeal Shockwave therapy (CelluShock-2009) - a Randomized Trial. BMC Women’s Heal. 2010;10(1):29. doi:10.1186/1472-6874-10-29
- Kim K, Jeon S, Kim JK, Hwang JS. Effects of Kyunghee Facial Resistance Program (KFRP) on mechanical and elastic properties of skin. J Dermatol Treat. 2016;27(2):191-196. doi:10.3109/09546634.2015.1056078
- Nishikori S, Yasuda J, Murata K, et al. Resistance training rejuvenates aging skin by reducing circulating inflammatory factors and enhancing dermal extracellular matrices. Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):10214. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-37207-9
- Tew GA, Gumber A, McIntosh E, et al. Effects of supervised exercise training on lower-limb cutaneous microvascular reactivity in adults with venous ulcers. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2018;118(2):321-329. doi:10.1007/s00421-017-3772-0
- O’Brien JA, Finlayson KJ, Kerr G, Edwards HE. Testing the effectiveness of a self-efficacy based exercise intervention for adults with venous leg ulcers: protocol of a randomised controlled trial. BMC Dermatol. 2014;14(1):16. doi:10.1186/1471-5945-14-16
- MENG Z, GAO B, GAO H, GE P, LI T, WANG Y. Four Weeks of Hypoxia Training Improves Cutaneous Microcirculation in Trained Rowers. Physiol Res. 2019;68(5):757-766. doi:10.33549/physiolres.934175
- C. RL, RONENN R, G. CJ, W. AL, A. DC, NIKBIN MS. Effects of progressive resistance training on immune response in aging and chronic inflammation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996;28(11):1356-1365. doi:10.1097/00005768-199611000-00003
- McCabe MC, Hill RC, Calderone K, et al. Alterations in extracellular matrix composition during aging and photoaging of the skin.
Matrix Biol Plus. 2020;8:100041. doi:10.1016/j.mbplus.2020.100041
