Get moving! Get Genki!
The human body is designed to move, and yet unfortunately our modern work and lifestyles mean that we end up scrunched up, stiffened and softened in all the wrong places, immobilised and sore. This leads to a host of preventable conditions too long to list, causing unnecessary suffering and placing an enormous burden on our healthcare systems.
We agree that exercise is an essential and beneficial thing to do.
We know that exercise can benefit our health and extend our expected life span, even save our life.
We think we will have to start exercising “one day”.
So why not yesterday, today and every day after?
I believe we need to start seeing movement and exercise as an integral part of our lives rather than something we must do in addition to life. Very few of us ask ourselves whether we intend to get dressed, shower or go to sleep today. So why should exercise be in an optional category rather than a given?
We find excuses – lack of time, lack of money, the list goes on. What about the true cost of doing nothing?
Exercise, like healthy eating (this topic is covered in another post) seems to have developed this mystique around it, which puts some people off as they might feel intimidated, and draws others on a hop-around to the latest fads and trends. Others yet yo-yo in and out of exercise – getting excited for a while and then having the interest cool down over time, only to come back when the pants don’t fit and they decide to go on another “health kick”.
You might be among those with good intentions – at some point you have done the 12-week program, copped a face-full of sand and yelling from a drill sergeant at bootcamp, and have tried the shiny new studio down the road boasting “elite” training. And yet nothing truly lights you up.
It is never too late to start regular exercise. But do you want to wait and suffer the consequences of not exercising in order to get into action? Do you want to be the 40-something who cannot catch their kid or climb a set of stairs without feeling nauseous? Do you want to be the 50-something who develops high blood pressure, or type 2 diabetes? Do you want to be the 60-something who develops an excruciating and debilitating slipped disk as a result of a sedentary lifestyle? Or do you want to be the 70-something who has a fall and and lacks the strength and mobility to get up? You get my drift. The answer is – we should be exercising at all ages. (By the way, the above examples I have given are not made-up for shock value – they are based on real-life people.)
So where to from here? Here are some thoughts from me – you can take some or all of them:
Think of movement and exercise as something that you just do, like getting dressed in the morning. If you are not currently regularly exercising, developing this thinking will take time. Work at it.
Treat exercise as something that is as important for your health as eating well or sleeping. It is not optional.
Start with a short daily stretching or walking routine and gradually build from there. What is the minimum you can add to what you currently do? 15 minutes? Do it!
Get outdoors as often as possible.
Find a good fitness professional to help you establish correct movement and lifting mechanics and to guide you towards developing some workouts and tapping into your potential.
It does not need to be complicated. Really. Go for a walk. Kick a ball. Crawl and roll around on the ground (with the kids, with the dog or by yourself!). Jump on a trampoline. Play. Climb some stairs. Pick up something heavy (using good lifting mechanics) and see how long you can carry it, for fun.
Find something that you really enjoy and make it your special thing. For me, this was martial arts. There are so many ways to move: run, dance, yoga, martial arts, acrobatics, gym classes.
Set a goal that means something to you. “Fit into X clothes size” or “lose Y kilos” are typical goals. However, “be fit and strong and move with ease into my 70’s and beyond” is a goal that will keep you moving well and truly after the 12-week transformation has been forgotten.
Find the values that drive your health goal - that intangible boundless something like self care, healthful living, longevity, better performance. The pursuit of a goal is finite, it can be reached, it can be ticket off a list - you can lose 5 kilos, get into a size 10, finish the fun run, then what? By contrast, values are something ongoing you can live by on a daily basis. When we are deeply unhappy it is usually because values that are important to us have not been met. Think deeply – why is your health important, what is the true heart, the essence of what you are trying to achieve.
Write a list of all the things that you believe are currently stopping you: time, money, the cold weather, the kids, the boss, laziness, excuses, etc. Against each item, write one or two ideas about how you can get around that obstacle. Switch your thinking from why it can’t be done to how you can make it happen.
Remind yourself that you, and you alone, are responsible for your health. No one else can get healthy for you! No matter what else is going on in your life right now (with some genuine exceptions) you have a choice how to treat yourself, your body and your health. You cannot control outside circumstances or some things that happen to you, but you can give yourself the best possible chance by doing the things that are within your control.
Stop madly running around meeting the needs of other people. Make your health and well-being a priority. Put your oxygen mask on first. Make a regular non-negotiable calendar appointment with yourself. Trust that when you are looking after yourself, your family, your friends and your work will also benefit.
For more articles and peak performance inspo visit www.genkiproject.com.au.
So get moving! Get Genki!