Fitness
Less Expected Benefits of Workout in Everyday Life
It doesn’t hurt when you accidentally hit the wall
I’m not writing about the benefits of being Hulk Hogan in his prime, but benefits from hour-long workout 2–3 times a week on a casual level.
We usually start exercising to boost self-confidence, to look and feel better. But aside from new photos on Instagram and more pairs on Tinder, we gain much more enhancements to everyday life that are less visible.
I see that on my example as I have never done any strength exercises until I was 23. In my teenage years, I was playing games or partying, and when it comes to training, I preferred, e.g., soccer. Then I started and experienced a lot of gains in ordinary life situations.
All we actually have is our body and its muscles that allow us to be under our own power.
— Allegra Kent
Life hurts less
When you have developed muscles, life becomes less painful in most ordinary situations — it doesn’t hurt when you hit the wall by accident. It’s like having armor in everyday life.
I remember when I was moving to college in another city by bus for the first time. At the place, I had to cross almost the entire city by public transport and walk to a rented apartment.
It may seem easy, but I had one large, one small luggage, and a backpack, all filled to the fullest by an overprotective mom. It was a painful experience, despite the fact, I was 19 at this point.
Such problems disappear when you are actively working out, and life becomes easier. Shopping at the grocery store doesn’t exhaust you to the limits — you are not struggling with those two little bags of groceries.
Muscles give us the strength to push heavier weights but also make whole life easier. Everyday situations are less of a challenge for us. As a result, we have more time, energy, and willingness to live.
Motivation to try new things
It’s not easy to achieve anything significant in life, while it’s quite easy to develop basic muscles.
I’m not trying to discredit professional athletes, but writing about the casual workout. Let’s be honest that 2/3 times a week workout is easier than 8–12h entrepreneur hustle. Or that sacrificing even the best burger to keep the diet is easier than sacrificing the time with the family on building a business.
There is big competition on the market. 9/10 startups fail in the first year. People are competing in every field, as we live in times of cultivated individualism. Whatever we want to do- there is always a huge competition.
As a result, we may feel depressed building social media, brand, or business. But, building the muscles and improving look? It’s easy and, most importantly — depending 100% on you. There is no market and no competition (except competing with yourself).
That first success of “dream body” may be the first brick encouraging to continue to develop in other life areas.
Developing good qualities
Discipline and routine can fix even the messiest life.
After high school, I had a huge problem organizing myself since I chose to follow my passion and started working as a freelancer. It was the first time in my life when I lose a systemic routine from school. It was leading to deregulating my biological clock, a lot of stress, and other health problems.
It took me few years to develop proper habits, and the main reason I succeed at that was regular workouts. I started with simple workouts, and then I developed a diet to get better results from exercising.
Both diet and workout increased the quality of my life. It gave me the routine and some peace in my life. I had more energy, I felt better, but not only that.
Developing the body teaches us discipline, consistency, and perseverance, which are key traits to succeed in any life area. Rather no one thinks, “oh, I will go to the gym to learn discipline,” but that’s a by-product of a proper workout.
With self-discipline, most anything is possible.
― Theodore Roosevelt
Workout could prevent depression
I do not know if I went through depression because I didn’t go to a psychiatrist and take any medications. But for sure, I have gone through some tough mental health issues, and regular workouts helped me a lot back then.
There were the days when I could not go out of bed because I didn’t have any goals. Everything didn’t make sense. I lied in bed a stare at the wall for hours. I was living like a plant, drank, ate, slept, repeated.
Finally, at some point, I started with simple stretches every day. Then I was doing some basic yoga and meditation, and finally, I started working out daily for eight months straight. It helped me, and I don’t think I would make it without a daily exercise routine.
Is there any science behind it? Article on the Health Harvard website informs:
Research shows that exercise is also an effective treatment. “For some people, it works as well as antidepressants, although exercise alone isn’t enough for someone with severe depression,” says Dr. Michael Craig Miller
Simple workout as an antidepressant. Isn’t it awesome?
The Takeaway
When I wrote it down, I’m impressed with how my life improved by a simple, casual workout. Today I don’t have as much time for a workout that I used to, but I will try to find some. Of course, I will start tomorrow. Today I need to rest — I had a tough day. Alright, jokes aside.
If you are exercising regularly for years, you probably don’t remember the pains of those two bags from the grocery store. You are “naturally” motivated to live, and depression is a myth because you workout from the teenage years.
But if you were lazy, maybe it’s time to take out the closet the professional equipment you bought as a new year resolution and finally start exercising?
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