Oxygen is needed by every cell in your body in order to live. If you can’t breathe, then you certainly can’t get the physical activity your body needs to be healthy. Building lung capacity is important to everyone. Healthy lungs work to bring in oxygen that the body needs to create energy. Regular exercise requires the body to burn energy. Your lung tissue has to work harder to get more oxygen into the body and blood stream. When the lungs work harder, such as from exercise, the volume of air (air capacity) that your lungs can hold, grows stronger.
Many smokers are motivated to quit because they see the hypocrisy of having a cigarette when leaving the gym or after a workout. It’s amazing how getting your heart pumping makes you feel so good. If a person is addicted to nicotine then there is an inner battle going on. The 'addiction', which wants to light up, and the logical part of the brain that is enjoying the gratifying effects of exercise. This is why it’s common that exercising can trigger the desire to quit smoking for good. It’s rewarding to observe the body becoming more capable with each workout. Just as the muscles repair and become more powerful, so do the lungs regenerate once cigarettes are gone.
"If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance." - Andrea Boydston