Things Go Better With Sweat

To feel the vitality of life — exercise a little every day

I don’t know about you, but whenever I start the day with exercise and breaking a sweat, the entire day just seems to go a little bit better. While this is easier said than done, breaking a sweat first thing in the morning does have its benefits. Don’t give up though, just because you miss a day or exercising in the morning is not possible. Breaking a sweat, even one day a week, is better than not at all.

Just by doing a little exercise, you will reap rewards. Some benefits beyond the physical ones include detoxification, improved respiration and circulation, increased endorphins, and enhanced energy levels. Breaking a sweat is also good for your mental health. With so many benefits, why don’t we average Joes and Janes do it more?

Are You Soft?

I believe one of the primary reasons we put off exercise or omit it completely from our routines is we do not think of exercise as being fun. If the boring routine of exercise is keeping you on the sidelines, make it a game of beat the clock, exercise to your favorite music, or choose activities that stimulate you such as playing sports or doing martial arts. There are virtually thousands of ways to get your heart rate up and your body moving.

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You may also feel that you do not have time to go to the gym. If that is true, exercise at home. Exercise is a simple activity with a direct relationship between time invested now and the dividends you receive, both in the short and long term. The perks you can expect to receive far outweigh the pain of getting physical for a few minutes a few times a week. I do not know anyone that wants to be sick or unhealthy. Do you? One way to ensure that you are healthier is to break a sweat. Whether you are a couch potato, a busy mom, or a cancer survivor, getting in a workout of any length will help you be more fit mentally and physically.

It Can Be Simple

My exercise routine takes about 10 to 15 minutes and is something easy to do at home. I start with 25 pushups and then do 5 minutes of planking. I am going to include 50 squats to expand my program. Simple and effective. I notice the results immediately, and the boost in my energy level is more than apparent.

Other do-at-home exercises like sit-ups or crunches, lunges, and jumping jacks, or even the dreaded burpee all use your body’s weight for resistance to get your heart rate and breathing levels up while burning calories. Want to work on a specific area, or create your own routine? Just search for exercises that fit your needs, such as reducing tummy fat, increasing stamina or simple exercises to do at home. In Japan a short exercise program on public television network NHK called Radio Taiso shows simple exercises that can even be done sitting down. Start simple and add repetitions and activities as your routine becomes easier. This is a good start to getting your daily dose of physical activity. It also allows you to tick off one accomplishment at the start of your day.

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.

Dan Gable

Get the Juices Flowing

Exercise requires many of your body’s systems to work in tandem. Starting your day with these systems in harmony can only help your day to go more smoothly. Alternatively, exercising at other times of the day is good for getting into sync. Take your circulatory system, for example; exercise gets your blood pumping faster, and that moves the blood through your body with increased speed. That exertion also enhances your breathing rate, adding more oxygen to your blood and increasing its quality. Since a healthy brain circulates 750 ml (about a bottle of Jack Daniels) of blood every minute, that increased flow of blood and oxygen also helps improve mental alertness and state of mind.

According to the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, regular exercise improves self-esteem, reduces anxiety and feelings of depression. You may also have heard that exercise produces endorphins and those help you have a more positive outlook.

It’s not even about looking good; it’s about feeling good inside.

Brie Bella

How Do the Japanese Live So Long?

The life expectancy in Japan is among the highest in all the world, with a combined average life-span of over 85 years for men and women. That is a full six years more than people in the US, and a few more years than folks living in the UK and Canada. So what is their secret?

One thing that surprised me when I came to live in Japan over 20 years ago was the high level of health consciousness compared with people living in the US. In Japan, people walk A LOT. Every morning people walk to the station and to the office, then repeat this process on the way home. I even see many of my silver-haired neighbors out walking every day.

They say that walking 10,000 steps a day, about five miles, is the key to a long and healthy life. I know from personal experience, my weight is lower and my energy higher when I get in those 10k steps.

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It will take me about 90 minutes to do that if I were to do it all at once. However, you can add a bit more walking to your day and before you know it, you will be moving more than you ever imagined. Here are some ways to increase your walking time:

• Take public transportation — Walking to and from the bus stop or train station like we do in Japan.
• Park at the far end of the parking lot, or even at one that is a little ways from where you are headed — You can probably get in a few extra hundred steps each way with this strategy.
• Walk to the store — Is there a supermarket, drugstore, or beauty shop within a mile of your home? Why not walk there instead of taking the car?
• Walk your neighborhood — Just taking a 20–30-minute walk around your neighborhood will not only help digest your dinner but also have you understanding a bit more about the place where you live. You may even meet some of your neighbors, increasing your social skills as well.
• Spend part of your lunch break walking — Whether you work from home or go into an office, spending part of your lunch break walking helps you reset and clear your mind for the second half of the day.

As you can see, it does not take much to add exercise to your weekly routine. Just getting your body moving a few times a week can have astounding benefits. While speed is not a factor in getting those steps in, the faster you walk, the more you work those bodily systems, and the more calories you will burn.

50 percent of the benefit of the exercise is hearing and feeling your heart rate, your sweat and the pain levels that need to be encountered.

Kevin R. Stone

The Rubber Band Effect

Senior executives and successful consultants, who put in long days, know that to have the energy levels needed to be just as effective at the end of the day as they are at the beginning, have to incorporate an exercise program. When you get into motion, you tend to stay that way, and momentum will help you more easily top off when you hit a lull. That is much easier than having to start from zero each time.

I call this the rubber band effect. As you expend energy in physical activity, you create energy. Some of that is stored and able to be used later. It is akin to charging your batteries through activity, keeping the rubber band tight allows you to be more alert and effective.

Success is dependent upon the glands — sweat glands.

Zig Ziglar

At The End of the Day, It Is Up to You

We all know the benefits of exercise, regardless of the amount you do. Making excuses for not doing it, as I sometimes do, or avoiding it entirely, can have a negative impact on your longevity. However, we can all get a little bit of physical activity. Not only does it benefit your body, but it is also good for your mind and spirit, too.

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