We all know that exercise can change our moods and our body composition. But did you know that exercise can also change your DNA too?

Scientists have discovered that just 20 minutes of exercise can alter the structure of DNA molecules in our muscles according to a new study published this month in Cell Metabolism.

For the study, Swedish researchers tested the muscle tissue of 14 men and women after they completed a session on an exercise bike. Researchers found that the DNA found within the muscles had fewer methyl groups than before exercise. According to Cordis News, “The alterations also surface in DNA areas that act as landing sites for various enzymes, what experts call transcription factors. These transcription factors play a role in stimulating genes that are instrumental in muscles’ adaptation to exercise.” So, exercise doesn’t change the sequence of your DNA, but it does change the structure.

In layman’s terms, the findings of the study show that exercise benefits your health at a genetic level.

“Our muscles are really plastic,” says Juleen Zierath of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. “We often say: You are what you eat. Well, muscle adapts to what you do. If you don’t use it, you lose it, and this is one of the mechanisms that allows that to happen.”

So the next time you need some motivation to exercise, think of your DNA. “Exercise is medicine, and it seems the means to alter our epigenomes for better health may be only a jog away”, noted Zierath.