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The Physical You - Exercise

Ahh...exercise. 

One of the those things that everyone knows is good for us, and everyone says "we must do". But when it really matters, we prefer to just stare at our phones (social media, games, etc.) and let the days go by without as much as lifting a finger. Sadly, it gets worse with age - the older we get, the lazier we become, and we feel that exercise is not important..to our own detriment. 

If we really wish to improve our project to be a better person, exercise must be something that we must do. Let's take stock of what exercise is and review the several types and see how we can add exercise in our daily/weekly routine. In its simplest form, exercise is defined as any "activity that requires physical effort, that is carried out to sustain and improve health and fitness".  

The guideline from WHO is about 150 minutes of physical activity (you can use Google Fit to measure Heart Points) to live longer, sleep better and boost our mood. The key here though, is to maintain the the effort. It is one thing to just do it once, but the secret is that we continue doing it, in good days and bad days. To expand the definition, we can say that "exercise is a prolonged physical effort to improve health and fitness". 

So, what are some of the exercise that we could do and sustain? This can be classified into 3 categories.


Sports

Given a choice, and you have friends/buddies/family to do this with, doing sports is the best form of exercise. We not only work out our bodies, we also get to engage with the other players which does wonders to our mental health.  Sports is also the one activity that is the easiest to clock the 150 Heart Points - time flies when we are having fun. These include badminton, tennis, (flag) football, soccer, basketball, hockey (ice and field), ultimate frisbee, etc. All you need to do is ask, "can I join?"


Group Exercise

The next best thing, if we do not have people to do sports with, is to sign up for group exercise at your local club, community. Some classes may be available at your company during the lunch hour or at the end of day.  This applies to yoga/Pilates or spin classes (which are getting very popular these days). Martial arts (karate, aikido, tae-kwon-do, ju-jitsu, kendo, etc.) and dance (ballroom dance such as tango, cha-cha or dance cardio, etc.) will fall into this category. Do visit your local gym or community clubs to ask if classes are available - just sign up and try.


Solitary Exercise

Last but not least, especially if there are no buddies to do sports or classes in the local gym is that one can just go outside to the park or just a walk around the block. Or just visit the local gym and start weight training on machines. If doing it for the first time, there are usually trainers who would be most willing to provide tips on how to start lifting weights. A third option is to actually go to YouTube and open up a video on Tabata or HIIT and follow the instructions...similar to older folks doing exercise with Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons. And if you are really old, you will remember watching Jack Lalanne (I watched hi show when I was a kid). 


The best exercise?

So, which one is the best? The best exercise is the one that you will be doing, again and again, on a consistent basis. It could be the (once a week) Pilates class, then a game of basketball on a Thu night. Then a 30-minute gym session followed by a 3-5km walk on Sat morning. If that does not work (weather not permitting), then perhaps we get a rowing machine, or stationary bike or treadmill. 

Whatever the exercise may, the most important is that it gets the heart (slightly) pumping and maintaining the frequency of exercise across weeks, months, years. 

Here is to a better you....

Next: Sleep


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