"If you are not exercising, you are not 100% healthy" John Onole.

EXERCISE: A HABIT THAT STARTS IN BITS

John Onolen

I believe that human beings are activity creatures and by this, I mean we are always in need of activity. If you take a good look at your routine, you will see that somehow you have conditioned your mind to certain activities that has become a part of your life. You wake up in the morning and you brush your teeth, you take a bath and then dress up for the day and somehow you have consistently done this for the past fifteen, twenty and thirty years of your life. These are bits in your daily activities that have become a habit. Your journey therefore to becoming better would require that you begin to apply conscious efforts towards ensuring that every part of your person enjoys these benefits. “You don’t however rush into it because the best way to master an act is to grow in it”. The beauty of growing in something is drawn from the little efforts you put into it purposefully and consistently over time, allowing yourself to appreciate and discover how far you are becoming better at it without being pressured or threatened by any unwanted outcome. Exercising yourself and ensuring that you include this as a part of your routine is to help you keep your body fit for the demands of your daily activities. And because you are exercising yourself, you are eating better and you are becoming more productive at work. You will begin to observe that your patience and tolerance level will begin to change for the better. I remember a friend once saying that “Exercise is a seeded activity that when made a habit can trigger a widespread change in the positive direction for a person”. So you see, you are not only staying healthy; you are staying hearty and you are staying happy. 

YOU SHOULD BE ADDING SOME PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE

Your daily activities can sometimes be a disadvantage to your physical fitness especially if your kind of job requires that you sit or stand for long hours and so your being intentional about adding some physical activities to your daily routine can go a long way in helping you to stay fit. “That you are in love with what you do for a living doesn’t mean that your body is in love with it too”. You have to make your body happy and the only way to achieve this is by engaging yourself in some physical activities. You can take a walk or creatively park a little farther away from your destination and just walk the rest of the distance. This is you being intentional. This is not stress but exercise. Also select activities that could engage your body for as short as 5, 10 to 20 minutes and be consistent with it. If you feel that this could boring for you to engage in alone, invite friends or loved one to join you as this will also bring fun and shared energy and habits around your routines. You will also be able to evaluate your tenacity and strength when friends are also involved in the exercise. One way to achieve this is to convince yourself that if you give this a chance, you will also be increasing your energy level.It is possible that you could have some sort of fear of injury engaging in certain exercises, and so I will advise that you select activities that you can do safely and then increase your efforts as your confidence and abilities grow. You can also start with activities that wouldn’t require that you have certain skills, such as walking, jogging and climbing the stairs. 

I understand that you can sometimes get so busy with work, projects and trying to meet deadlines but remember you are on a mission to bringing out the best in yourself. To achieve this, you must create time for not only activities that will bring you money but also activities that will bring you a good and better health. I believe that assigning a time for something is a strong proof that such a thing is of importance to you, therefore schedule time for exercises and be faithful to it like you are faithful to your job or assignments. In practical terms, you can simply monitor your activities for at least two weeks and slot in a 20minute time allocation for a physical activity. Select an activity that can fit in to your home or work routine so you are not wasting time and even transportation to another venue just so you can accomplish them. You could consider walking some distance in your neighborhood, climbing some stairs at your office or exercising while you are watching TV. These are some very good options to start with.“A time you create for something is a time to create for results”

Willingness is a key to enjoying and engaging totally in any given task. There is a huge difference in loving what you do and doing what you love. The former is necessary for you to stay motivated in these routines. You are always looking forward to your next exercise and its not just because you have to do it but because you love and want to do it. This is the reason many are unable to sustain healthy exercising because they lose their motivation in the process of just getting started. As you begin to engage in these planned exercises, remember that the goal is to become better and that you are also giving to your body what it truly deserves. One way to stay motivated is to set targets for yourself and help yourself achieve them. With targets, you are able to check and note your level of improvements and growth as you consistently observe to do according to your set expectations. Another way to stay motivated is to change locations at intervals. Using the same place over and over again can sometimes become boring for some, and so you do not want a situation where you feel not so excited about carrying out your exercise routine because you are so familiar with a particular location. Practically, taking a walk in your environment can be replaced with doing the same in a park or activity center. With this, you are also exercising your eyes, ears and other parts of your body without losing enthusiasm or motivation. “Your staying motivated is key to your growth process, the more motivated you are the better results you will get.”

STAY TRUE TO THE EXERCISE THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Choosing a well-designed exercise plan that fits your body and schedule is very important for your overall growth and effectiveness. The first question you are asking yourself before making this decision is how much exercise do you need? The answer to this question will be largely dependent on your kind of job. If your job is a high-level activity job that requires lots of movements from one place to another, then you will need to engage in exercises that will keep you active for longer. Exercises like pushups, press ups will do you a whole lot of good. While on the other hand if your kind of job is one that requires that you sit or stand in a particular spot for long hours, then you will need to be involved in more activity exercises like jogging, running, jumping to help you release unwanted energy.

We aren’t all the same and so the nature of our daily routines is bound to differ one from another. It then becomes very important to know what particular exercise is right for your physical fitness and transformation. Once discovered, staying true to the exercise that works for you is what would make the difference eventually because you are giving your body the right food and in return your body will also be releasing the right energy.

The moment you begin to engage in healthy exercises, remember this, that your body needs time to adapt to your new movement and activities. So, your exercising should be gradual and progressive. Giving yourself therefore too much to do, too fast will put you in risk of possibly causing injuries to yourself. Set long term goals for yourself and be practical about taking them a day at a time. Pursue the things you love to do but do go at them in a rush, be slow, be gradual and be patient. This is the key to staying safe as you exercise. Now, as you begin to look at your routine and activities, be mindful of the goals and targets you are setting for yourself. They should be long term goals because your intention is to be consistent, committed and punctual with your projections. Keep yourself motivated and never allow your body lack the things that it needs. And just like it is said “we are what we do repeatedly” and so your journey to becoming better is tied to this. You can do this, you can make it happen because you are intentional about it.

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