What if there was a drug that prevented or treated diabetes and heart disease, reduced pain, made you happier, raised your energy level, helped you sleep, improved bowel function and promoted weight loss? Would you take it?
Well you can’t, because there is no such drug. The only thing that will give you all those benefits is physical activity. Yet people don’t do it. Why not?
Most of us face serious barriers to physical activity. We may live in places where walking is dangerous or impossible. We may work jobs that leave us exhausted without making us move our bodies. Travel, work, school, religious worship, even most entertainment is done sitting down.
Mel’s Story
Mel was 56 when he had his first heart attack. His job - operating a fork lift at a big box retailer - left him exhausted each day, without giving him any physical exercise. He had given up bowling (too tired), and now mainly watched TV and did crossword puzzles for recreation. His doctor had told him to start walking, but he hated walking alone. It was boring.
One day, Mel’s neighbor Ira told him about his own problems with high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. Ira had just joined a gym, and he told Mel he was enjoying resistance training. They started going to the gym together and hanging out afterwards. After a few months of strength training, Mel had more energy. He and Ira and their wives started double dating to a folk dancing program at a community center. Mel’s weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure are all down, and he feels (and looks) better than he has in years.
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Our society creates all kinds of excuses to avoid activity. Kids used to play basketball; now they play video basketball. Developers build suburbs without sidewalks or crosswalks, so you have to drive. Some office buildings lock stairways, forcing people to take elevators instead.
Still, every day, people do overcome these barriers and get moving. The important thing is to make activity a source of pleasure, not a chore you have to do at the end of a long day full of other tasks. Here are some easy keys to getting active.