Probably not. But, bear with me.
Now, of course, exercising isn’t necessary for a many number of things in life, including getting good grades, learning to drive a car, and being nice to people, but if we’re talking about living longer, living healthier, and feeling better, then exercise may be something worth considering.
And yes, I did just say ‘may’.
You see, when we traverse the topic of ‘living longer’, it gets a lot of people umming and uhhing – not always entirely upon the life-longevity wagon.
Just recently in fact, I had someone say to me that they don’t care much for living longer as opposed to living richer.
Now, that kinda thing affects me, but, alas, I know, each to their own…
Though, without going too deep into the “necessity” of exercising, looking to the benefits can – most of the time – be a better approach to providing a better outlook on the matter.
No! It doesn’t just have to be…
Before disregarding exercise (or movement), keep in mind that exercising doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of hitting a gym, lifting weights, and passing out after a ridiculously programmed “WOD”.
Whilst of course resistance training and proper programming for a gym program can provide an individual with some killer benefits like increased bone density, faster metabolism, more confidence, and the ability to semi-shape their body, it’s not the be-all and end-all to aiming to live longer, better, and healthier.
Let’s take a sport you enjoy, for instance. Say, soccer.
The simple benefits of just moving around, changing directions, kicking a ball, doing things you wouldn’t normally do, all along with interacting with real-life living people (and not via the WWW), are all totally worthy of being key positives to this whole “exercise” thing.
Exercise for weight loss??
If your goal is to lose weight, exercising intensely (like the media does enjoy amplifying and making it seem like it is the only way to lose the kg’s) doesn’t always have to be the way to go about it.
One thing I always try to encourage people to do is to step back and take the focus away from those goddamn scales and their small digital numbers that seem to control so many people’s moods, emotions, and life.
Another thing I like to do is to show them that they can just enjoy being able to move. Enjoy being able to sweat, breathe heavier, and get outside.
Besides, if you look at it like this, don’t you think it’s a huge waste for any of us to not try to get the most out of our lives? To not enjoy being able to do everything we’re able to do? True?
When studies show that no exercise results in a higher prevalence to disease and faster death – not to mention higher levels of depression, surely it’s not something that should be excluded from too many peoples weekly routines.
The types of studies that show that even when an individual is morbidly obese, adding exercise, despite the change in weight, shows that this kind of thing is one thing we should be thinking about more often to ensure a longer life and a lower chance of disease. Especially when you have family. Which is a large percentage of Earth’s human inhabitants.
How hectic?
To reap the benefits of exercise, one does not need to go all-out five times a week, 52 weeks of the year. Simple things like going for a power walk, playing with your kids, signing up to play/compete in your favourite sport, all can be perfect ways to get moving.
By engaging in 30-60 minutes of moving faster than a casual walk, three or more times a week, you can easily be on your way to living a much more fulfilling, longer, and healthier life.
Simplify it
It’s like anything, it only is ever complicated if you make it complicated.