This is the 4th part in a series that I am writing about “Getting our House in Order”…
To catch up if you are just getting here, these are the links to the previous posts:
Why It is Important to Get Your House in Order… NOW!! (Part 1)
Why It is Important to Get Your House in Order… NOW!! (Part 2)
Why It is Important to Get Your House in Order… NOW!! (Part 3)
In this post, we are going to take a look at the next pillar to living a successful life and that is our physical health. (*I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV, so please check with your own doctor before venturing out on to any physical fitness program. These ideas are a compilation of ideas that I have seen repeated over and over again through the many articles on the subject of physical fitness that I have read over the last 20 years.)
Let’s start down this road first before we get into these ideas, what good would all the money in the world be if you were to ill to enjoy any of it? I would suggest that all that money would be for nothing and would be hardly enjoyed. Or you would spend an awful lot of it trying to repair your body, which would also be a shame.
We have all heard of this idea before and it is becoming a key word now especially in light of the health care debate that we have just went through in the US, and that idea is “preventative care”. The idea that we do things in advance that will prevent future health issues. We do this with our automobiles everyday, don’t we? We take them in to the shop to have the oil changed and the tires rotated, in an effort to prolong the use of our vehicle.
Well our bodies are no different, we need to take steps that will prevent decline or prolong the use of our bodies.
Let’s explore some of the ideas that have been around for quite a while:
1. Regular Physical Activity – This has been at the top of the list for as long as I can remember. The number of days and the amount of time have changed over the years. A few years ago, I think it was 20 minutes of physical exercise, 3 days a week to now I think the recommendation is 5 days a week for an hour. The key here is to make sure that we raise our heart rate to the healthy level of beats per minute for our age, weight and fitness level, and this is different for everyone.
There are many benefits to regular physical activity from weight management to raising our self esteem.
2. Weight training or resistance training – This is the activity to work our muscles. Believe it or not, our bodies were not meant to last forever and from the the moment we are born our bodies are in decline and as we grow older our muscles start to breakdown. A way to prolong this is by working our muscles and making sure that we include some weight training into our fitness routines.
3. Proper Diet and Hydration – I think it has been established that a diet balanced with whole grain foods, lean protein sources, and nutrient rich vegetables in sensible amounts determined by our individual height and weight is the best way to go. All while making sure that we drink plenty of water to keep ourselves hydrated.
4. Regular Check up with your doctor – If we make a regular practice of going to see our doctor and making sure all of vital signs are in check, i.e.. blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and continue to stay active and eating properly, we should end up leading a productive life and enjoying the success that we have worked for.
If for some reason you don’t have a doctor of your own, it has been my experience that regular clinics and health screenings are have been done at pharmacies and also at the local grocery stores, you just need to keep you eyes open for them and go to them.
Excluding any physical issues that may be hereditary, if you keep yourself educated on the current health findings and follow a sensible fitness and nutrition plan, preventing some of the common health issues should be a no brainer.
But as always, this is a choice that we make.
If we just go about not exercising and eating whatever is placed in front of us or the value meals at the local drive thru, then we roll the dice with our health and the odds are pretty good that we will suffer some health issues. But if we take the steps to live an active lifestyle with a plan to exercise and a plan to eat the right things and execute that plan, we certainly put the odds into our favor to live a long and healthy life.
As Always, Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,
God Bless You,
John Clark