Investing in your personal health is one of the most powerful investments you can make in life. After all, you are the instrument of your own performance. Success in any endeavor hinges on your ability to actually do the work.
Throughout this pandemic we’ve been reminded of our fragile dependence on physical well-being. It’s scary to recognize that we can be so vulnerable to something that indiscriminately threatens our livelihood.
Yet in the midst of fear and uncertainty, the best thing to do is focus on things within our control.
Social distancing and wearing a mask are the two recommendations that have dominated the national conversation. And rightly so. Both are scientifically proven strategies for abating the spread of the virus. We absolutely should do these things.
But in addition to those measures, we also have control over our diet and exercise.
It’s no secret that America has an obesity problem. Still, I was shocked to learn that over 70% of Americans are clinically overweight. This obviously puts a large majority of our population behind the eight ball when it comes to fighting this disease.
Daily exercise is so important to our physical and mental health. But what does that look like when gyms are shut down across the country?
Stephen Covey writes about being proactive with our health in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As I was writing my book summary, I underlined this quote:
“A good exercise program is one that you can do in your own home and one that will build your body in three areas: endurance, flexibility, and strength.”
Did you catch that? A good exercise program is one that you can do in your own home. Stephen was way ahead of his time when he prescribed a pandemic-friendly exercise routine.
Like every other gym-goer in West Michigan, I had to adapt when my local Planet Fitness closed it’s doors in early March. It was disappointing at first, but now I can’t say that I miss it all that much.
I’ve substituted squat racks with calisthenics and treadmills with local bike trails.
Exercising from home has greatly improved my consistency. Pre-covid, I was only going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Now I’m much better at doing some form of exercise almost every day.
There’s opportunity to be found in every disaster. As I think about our physical health this week, I hope that we can find at least two silver linings from this pandemic:
- Increased awareness and responsibility for our diet and exercise.
- Increased acceptance of what an effective workout routine can be.
You don’t need a gym membership to be healthy. For most people, they just need to prioritize some kind of daily movement that gets their heart rate up.
We have a culture the perpetuates the myth that we don’t have enough time to exercise. But the reality is that we don’t have time not to.
Our health is our most important career asset. So let’s resolve to do everything we can to protect it.
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