Why Exercise?

"We often draw the extreme conclusion that our body is of no importance, and we pay no mind to what we look like.  And in doing so, we disregard the outer expression of inner beauty that we were created to exude." (Elliott Young, Kiss Dieting Goodbye)  We are made in the likeness and image of God.  We are amazing creatures sculpted and hand crafted by The Creator Himself.  He gave us arms and legs to move, hands to manipulate, a strong back, feet to direct our steps and a brilliant mind to orchastrate it all.  Let us not take for granted the gift we have all been given. 

We live in a time where most of our jobs are no longer working the land, laboring, sweating and using our body.  Sitting in front of computers, reading books, standing in one place for long periods of time and watching countless hours of t.v. have replaced our active lives.  Our bodies were designed to move.  The more we use them in their design, the more benefits we see come forth. 

I dont expect that everyone is going to exercise 5-7 days a week for hours on end.  That would be a ridiculous expectation.  Each person has individual needs and limitations.  Finding what fits you is where creativity comes in.  The idea of exercise is not to make this routine of mundane movements that we dread and talk ourselves out of doing, or allow life circumstances to conveinently make it "not possibile".  Yes, there are things that come up (been there), but habitually are there excuses for why you "can't?"  Why not change the way you think about exercise?  Why not call it something else and make it an active time that you actually enjoy? 

I personally purpose to be active 6 days a week, taking 1 day as a light day or rest day giving my body time to recover.  No two days are exactly alike.  I have created a large enough pool of options that leads me to never be bored.  I have a home gym, I utilize the road, take classes, have videos, try new things (just the other week I went rock climbing for the first time), I look on Groupon to find deals on fitness to bring freshness into my life, and I host a monthly Active Girls Connect Group.  This is my lifestyle, and I train as if there is no finish line, so why not make it fun!!!

Why exercise?  Whether you are over your ideal body weight, at ideal, or under ideal, exercise has so many health benefits that the question should be, Why would I not want to exercise?  Here is just a few reasons that will help you change your way of thinking:

1.  Improves metabolic rate (you burn more calories)
2.  Improves your digestion
3.  Improves your heart health
4.  Improves length of days
5.  Improves mental state
6.  Combates depression
7.  Increases stamina
8.  Improves sleep patterns
9.  Minimizes menstral, pre menstral and menopausal symptoms
10.  Protects sexual health
11.  Protect urninary health
12.  Protects against some forms of cancer
13.  Build muscles tone
14.  Helps make you look and feel great

If you purchased, or  have purchased a gym membership in hopes of losing weight and getting healthy, yet you have not stepped foot in the gym, or have hardly used it since the first few weeks of initial excitment, you are not alone.  Some studies have shown that people tend to exercise longer, feel more satisfied, and continue to make exercise a part of thier lifestyle WHEN the activity goes with their personality.  Don't complicate things.  Make it fun!  My Pastors love to ride there bicycles.  They even turned it into an annual fundraising event where they ride 100 miles up two mountain passes.  I love to exercise, but you would not catch me on a bike, especially for 100 miles.  The thought of a spinning class makes me cringe, so I just avoid that type of activity.  What things do you enjoy?  How about we think outside the box of barbells and treadmills for a moment.  Here are some activities that will give you a great workout that you might not have considered exercise.

Gardening
Mowing the Lawn
Cleaning your home
Make t.v. time exercise time (I do yoga and stretch in front of mine a lot)
Park far away on purpose
Take the stairs
Shop (my personal favorite)
Chop wood
Fix your yard
Ankle and/ or wrist weights to your normal movement
Take up a new sport (basketball, karate, roller blading, jump rope, climbing, skiing/boarding)
Dancing
Cooking (have you seen those iron chef shows?... they sweat like crazy)
Nature walks/hikes
Play ball with your kids
I use my kids as weights and run around with them, lift them, run stairs, super man them, and they Love every moment.

The idea is to just think outside the box and have FUN!!!  Don't put demands on yourself that you can not meet, so when you don't complete "it" you toss in the towel and say, "What's the use!"  Start out where you are, and do something more tomorrow than what you did today.  You will find an increased overall satisfaction with yourself when you Purpose to use your body the way He designed it to be used.  Happy Active time!!!