Carolyn Hansen: If your attitude towards exercise is bad, are you willing to change it?

Every minute we have to devote to exercise time should be strength training exercise of some kind, as it will give you the most bang for your buck. Photo / 123rf

OPINION

We are always trying to pack more into our day, and often exercise gets left out because it takes up too much time. As a result, our strength levels decline, along with our fitness levels, our waistlines increase and we set ourselves up for a variety of health problems down the road.

Our modern-day lives are indeed busy, as demands and expectations have increased as technology has sped up our world. With these extra loads, we need to be aware our own self care is vital to our survival in such a fast-paced environment.

Just like any piece of equipment that needs to be reliable and not break down, we need some downtime too. We need to recalibrate our brain and give it time to do some filing, otherwise it ends up like a desk piled up with unattended paperwork.

Our bodies and brains need the natural chemicals that are only released during vigorous movement or activity. They wash through us like medicine, calming, soothing and cleansing us in both body and mind of all the ‘junk’ that comes our way in the course of living a busy life.

If this ‘junk’ is not cleared away, stress levels climb and affect every part of our being. Not only our physical being, but our mental and emotional wellness as well. Stress is responsible for a large percentage of disease everywhere around us, and if you think you can get away with managing it without exercise, you are in for a rocky road.

Using the ‘not enough time’ excuse is flimsy. So, the next time you think about getting started on your exercise programme, do not ask, “Who has time?” Instead, ask yourself: “Who does not want to look and feel better?” Or: “If I don’t take care of myself, who else is going to?” After all, plenty of people way busier than you make the time to exercise a couple of times each week.

There is little difference between people all over the world, but that little difference does make a really big difference when it comes to self-help care. Because that little difference is all about attitude, and the really big difference is whether it is negative or positive. But even if your attitude towards exercise is bad, are you willing to change it?

If your attitude is positive, you will enjoy the time you’ve carved out for your exercise programme and its importance will be pushed up to very near the top of the totem pole of priorities - right up there alongside family, work and friends. After all, what use can you be with regard to these other priorities if you do not have your health?

We each have the same amount of time each day. If you have packed yours full of stuff and have left no time for something as important as exercise, you will need to let go of projects or people that do not serve you well.

Every minute we have to devote to exercise time should be strength training exercise of some kind, as it will give you the most bang for your buck. It is a multi-purpose solution because it has benefits for all areas of your health: muscle, bone and joint strength, body weight control, flexibility and heart health to name a few. And just two to three sessions each week will guard against the number-one bio-marker of the ageing process – loss of muscle tissue.

Energy is the source of all life, and proper strengthening exercises will supply you with the energy and vitality to make the most out of your life. We each have the opportunity to create this life energy to keep ourselves healthy and well. All it takes to grab our share is a positive attitude and a simple action plan.

Carolyn Hansen is a co-owner of Anytime Fitness.