Exercise is not optional – Period!
Not, if you want to live a long, full, vibrant and independent life free from major maladies. It’s just not possible anymore. Our automated and sedentary life may be increasing our lifespan, but for most it is decreasing the span in which we are healthy, increasing dependency on medications, the NHS, and others to help us maintain any reasonable quality of life.
We may be living longer, but we certainly are not living better. Especially as we age!
The solution to this problem does not require complex strategies and government agendas. It simply needs each individual (that includes you) to move more, to increase their levels of daily physical activity, and take more personal responsibility for the amount of exercise they undertake. For many it can be as simple as starting by increasing their daily step count, for others it might require a commitment to getting hot, sweaty and out of breath twice per week, while for some it may require the introduction of more formal and intense workout regimes.
The simple fact remains however that most people need to stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution, leveling up their current activity levels so as not to be a burden on the NHS or their own children as they age.
The Reality
Your fitness and strength levels WILL be one of the major contributing factors to your independence into your 60s, 70s and through into your 90s.
The research is also showing with great confidence that physical inactivity is a greater danger to your health than smoking ever was!? So if you have ever encouraged a friend to give up smoking to assist their health, you would be wise by encouraging yourself to move more and start to build a physical frame that will help ward off illness and keep you moving as you grow older.
Start with the basics of increasing your daily activity in any way you can, but it cannot end there, it is a process that requires progress over time and for you to continually build on each step. Keep building until you are hitting your daily step count as well as exercising both the muscular skeletal and cardiovascular system in varying ways at least twice per week.
It’s not easy, it’s not convenient, but nothing worthwhile ever is, that said, a lack of investment now in your future health will require more significant investment at a later date. Movement is not a chore, it is a privilege – use it before you lose it!!
The Difficulty
To exercise is weird, it quite simply is not normal. Never in human history have humans or their predecessors wasted unnecessary energy or tired themselves out unnecessarily. In fact, unless it is in the pursuit of food, safety, protection, sex, or play we actively work on expending as little energy as possible. We are hard wired to conserve energy, this ability to conserve energy better than other species is one of the predominant factors in us becoming the dominant species on the planet
Conversely, never in our history have we been able to get anything and everything we need from the comfort of our bedroom at the click of a button. We no longer need to move to stay alive, but if we wish to live long, healthy and vibrant lives while enjoying the freedoms we have fought for we might have to muster the energy to get off the sofa and take some action.
It is time we all done more to help change the direction of humanity and take some personal responsibility in helping to hasten the decline of the modern ailments we are suffering in exponentially greater numbers.
Where to start
Imagine your body like a pond and the lack of motion is causing it to become stagnant, or an old car that has begun to rust due to being left unloved and unattended.
It’s going to take some time to get it all moving well again – so start slow.
Phase 1… Daily Activity – This is any movement performed daily that burns energy, from walking to doing housework, doing the garden to playing with the kids. Basically, if you are not sitting or standing still it gets included in your daily activity and most of us are both sitting and standing still for far too much of the day. If you are sedentary, find as much and as many times in the day you can increase your level of activity – Your daily step count is a fairly reliable way to track this.
Phase 2… Physical Activity – This is the first step in upping your levels and using your chosen activity to up your heart rate, to increase your breathing, and ultimately start getting hot sweaty and out of breath. Walk further, walk faster, walk just for exercise rather than to get anyway, play more vigorously with the kids and push yourself while doing the gardening or house work to get a bit of a sweat on. At this point look at a basic exercise class that will get you moving.
Phase 3… Exercise – Finally find a structured way to do exercise, consult an expert on how they can help you get moving and get fit in the most efficient way, in a way that will challenge your mobility, your fitness levels, and your strength. By developing each of these areas over time you will actively increase your energy levels, your sleep quality, and your vigor for each day. You will start to feel younger and life will become easier as a result of the hard choices you made when you got started moving.
Then… rather than bemoaning the healthcare system and government investment in it, you can be a proactive part in reducing the burden on it and those closest to you as you become older.
There is no downside to exercising consistently and effectively!