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“Eyes bulging, chest heaving, the lead runner crosses the line after running all 30 kilometers in the First Annual Grapefruit Marathon. . . backwards! What a feat of fitness for John Doe, Jr. to perform!”
Is this the way you see exercise and physical fitness, as something that lies in the realm of super athletes, and remains for beyond your reach? Well, if you think you have to get off the couch right now and go run a long marathon in order to exercise, you have an exaggerated view of physical fitness.
Exercise is a critical part of any program to keep your body healthy and happy. And the wonderful part about it is that exercise is available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Although you can join a fitness club right away, you aren’t obligated to spend a lot of money on club memberships or exercise equipment.
The best kinds of exercise programs are ones which include activities which strengthen your heart and lungs, activities which stretch any tight muscle groups and strengthen weak muscles, and exercises that give your body flexibility to move freely and avoid injuries. No one type of exercise give you all of these benefits, so you need to do a variety of exercises to create a well-rounded fitness program.
Although this may sound like a tall order, it isn’t really. You may already do a number of things right now that you don’t even think of as exercise, like carrying a load of laundry up the stairs, or parking a distance from a store’s entrance and walking. Even basic household chores or chasing after an active toddler can be great forms of exercise.
Walking is a wonderfully aerobic activity which many doctors recommend to their patients. With walking, you don’tput excessive strain on joints and muscles as you would with running, it is still a very active exercise, and it is a tremendous way to reduce stress. As you feel strength and endurance building in your body, you can introduce other activities like jogging, bike riding, swimming, or especially a combination of these exercises.
The secrets for sticking with an exercise program are to do activities you enjoy, find a friend to exercise with, and make sure you warm up your muscles before you start any exercise session. If you choose to swim and you hate to get wet, chances are you won’t stay in the pool for every long. When you’ve made a date with a friend to exercise, you are probably less inclined to break the appointment than if you are by yourself and you “ just don’t feel like it.” And warmup stitches and muscle movements decreases chances of serious injuries which may scare you away from exercise forever.
The benefits of an active body are tremendous. Not only do you feel better and less stressed out, but your body will end up looking better. Among the medical benefits, exercise also helps fight off heart disease, clinical depression and osteoporosis, and helps your digestive tract work better.
If you aren’t sure where to begin with an exercise program, talk to you doctor. He or she can run tests to determine how much activity your body can handle right now. Start off slowly on a program and never try to overdo your chosen exercises. And enjoy – exercise should be fun, not something you hate to do because you “have to.”
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