You, me, and the 'F' word

Stacey Quick

Fitness is something that seems to pop up, daily, in numerous conversations around the workplace, household or grocery store (as does the real ‘F’ word).  It passes through our conversations gracefully whether we welcome it or not.

We can’t hide from it.
And why should we?

It is a fact that regular physical activity massively reduces the risk of chronic disease (which accounts for 70% of all deaths in America(1) ).  It provides locations for a social atmosphere (something that a lot of us lack in our hectic working lifestyles), and of course, most importantly, it allows us the time to enjoy that organic triple chocolate fudge cake without the plague of guilt that usually surrounds us when even mentioning the words ‘chocolate’, ‘fudge’, and ‘cake’.

Excuses are a big bully.  That Dennis-the-menace faced punk who always seems to get in the way of us and our goals. 

‘There isn’t a gym close by’
‘I walk a lot, isn’t that enough?’
‘With my work, I just don’t have the time for my personal fitness’

I’m sorry, but you’re not going to find much justification here for that nonsense.  I’m not a huge fan of excuses for not looking after your body, I also never really rated Dennis the Menace.

 First of all, you don’t need a gym to be in shape. 

 You can start by performing a new hobby that simply raises your heart rate!  It can be running around the park, cycling with your kids, playing ping pong with that sweet, old lady next door who probably needs a pal like you; or even dance classes with your partner, something that only brings people closer together.

I am sorry to break this to you, but walking doesn’t count.  At least not as much as it should.  Sure, you burn some calories, but not enough.  Not only do you burn 2.5 times more calories by running the same distance as walking(2), but you also elevate your heart rate to an appropriate level to develop stronger cardiovascular fitness.  Running also takes less time than walking for similar results, which brings us to our final menacing excuse…

Time? Really?  You don’t have time to look after your one and only body?  Your body is your own personal temple.   The only one you will ever have.    I struggle to find bigger priorities out there than that!

To avoid those nasty chronic diseases, it is recommended to partake in 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week.  That is 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week. Come on.  You don’t have an extra 30 minutes?  Checking up on your high-school friend’s Facebook status is a bigger priority?  That nightly soap opera is on a higher podium?

Dennis deserves a polite shove out of your path using your new-found strength and your temple deserves an excuse to be worshipped.

You've got this!


1.     http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241367/
2.   http://greatist.com/fitness/walking-good-workout-running