In our busy modern lives we are always trying to fit more into the day, and many times exercise gets cut out because it takes up ‘too much time’. As a result, our strength and fitness suffers along with our expanding waistlines. We are aware this could cause us a variety of health problems down the road.
The news that most people do not do enough proper exercise will not be unsurprising to many. The experts are now saying our levels of inactivity have become so bad many people are seriously threatening their health. As many as four out of five people are not doing enough exercise to stay healthy and one in four does no exercise at all.
The situation has become so dire that years could be lost from our lives through increased risk of disease. So, what is going to get us up off our chairs and moving? When so many of us feel we do not have the time or motivation for exercise, how are we going to make space in our hectic schedules?
It must firstly start with a change in our attitudes. Our attitudes are at the bottom of this problem and what needs to be remembered are the children following along behind us. It has now been predicted that children being born today will have a 20-30 year lessened lifespan than us. Not a very good legacy to leave to our children and our grandchildren wouldn’t you agree?
Somehow we have to make exercise a priority in our lives. It should be right up near the top of the totem pole of priorities and as important as family, friends and our work and social lives. Without health there is nothing else, how can we look after others and enjoy our life if we don’t have our health?
If you are leaving your health up to chance or ‘Lady Luck’ you are taking a very big risk. You will have a 95 percent chance of becoming another statistic of the ‘big three’ villains, heart disease, cancer and diabetes which are called ‘chronic modern lifestyle diseases’. The odds are certainly not in your favor. Isn’t it so much easier to simply get the help of a fitness professional, get a proper program set up and simply do it 2-3 times a week?
If your program is mainly strength training exercise which is what you need to do first and foremost you will only need to spend 30-40 minutes per session to keep your body strong and healthy. If you cannot find a way to incorporate this small amount of exercise time into your life your lifestyle must be incredibly stressful. This means even more so you need to be using exercise as medicine to allow yourself to de-stress before it costs you your health.
As well as the long-term health benefits such as lessening disease risk, preventing weight gain and promoting weight loss there are more immediate effects that you will enjoy. Exercise boosts your energy levels so you can be more productive, improves sleep and helps control anxiety and depression. It also improves self-esteem, body image and mood, making you a happier person.
If your time is really limited it is vital that every minute of your exercise time is productive and effective. You need to squeeze every bit of value from what you do. This is why it is important to have it set up properly so it is being performed intensely enough, is changed and updated regularly, progression is being made (increases in strength) and results monitored.
Forget long, slow, steady state activity like walking, jogging or cycling. They will not give you the benefits that a proper program will give and if you are so short of time why would you be doing those recreational activities anyway. They cannot and should not replace a proper exercise program Do that first and if you suddenly have all of this time available then you can spend it doing whatever you want.
It is time to get serious about our health while we still have it. If you wait till the wheels fall off somewhere down the track it might well be too late to turn things around. If that should happen to you, you will be wishing you had not saved those few little bits of time only to lose out big time later with not only the length of your life at stake but the quality as well.
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your goals and achieving the success you desire in life, please visit:
http://CarolynHansenFitness.com
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