No matter how busy you are, you make time to eat, right? Physical fitness is also, in a very real way, necessary to stay alive. Not only will staying in shape increase your life span, but physical fitness will also improve the quality of your life. Yet physical fitness is often neglected in favor of much less important but more immediately pressing things, by those who claim busy-ness as an excuse.
Exercise can be convenient:
A big contributor to lack of physical fitness among the general public, is that people view exercise as more trouble than it really is. Many people believe that in order to achieve physical fitness, you must go to the gym regularly. Going to the gym costs money, you have to change your clothing, you have to be seen in public all sweaty in clothes that are more revealing than you’d like, and it takes time to drive there. No wonder no one wants to do it. Going to the gym is okay every once in a while, but most people stick with their physical fitness program better if the main form of exercise is more convenient, such as walking or running, which can be done just around your neighborhood, and doesn’t require expensive equipment.
Watch your diet…but don’t diet:
Everyone realizes that physical fitness requires healthy eating as well as exercise. Unfortunately, sometimes this knowledge does more harm than good, since many people act upon it by yo-yo dieting, eliminating everything with fat and sugar from their diet until they can’t stand it anymore and consume a gallon of ice cream in one sitting. People who take this approach to physical fitness usually gain weight and fat in the long run. The best way to eat healthily is to consume a variety of healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, and nonfat dairy; but allow yourself to have treats when you really want them (in moderate amounts). Eating well and exercising is the best way to achieve physical fitness. No need to invest in expensive diet pills, drinks, or bars.
Fitness gives you freedom:
People see physical fitness as something that takes time, perhaps even money, and causes them pain. They believe that since physical fitness requires commitment, it takes away freedom. I respond to this attitude with a quote found on the wall of my dance studio; “With total discipline, comes complete freedom.” You may be giving up thirty minutes a day, but you will have the freedom to run and play with your grandkids later in life when your efforts towards physical fitness have paid off by keeping you healthy at an age when your peers are sitting in their armchairs watching television. You may feel occasional pain while you exercise, and experience the “burn” in your muscles, but physical fitness will give you the freedom to enjoy the scenery when hiking with your friends, while they are huffing and puffing, too out of breath to think about anything but their own fatigue. Physical fitness requires some small amount of discipline, yes, but the freedom you receive in return is far greater, and it lasts a lifetime — if you do it in a healthy way. Commit to physical fitness today. You won’t regret it.
By Riannon Cutler