Basis for good everyday life - exercising

Movement or Exercise? 

Doing sports is a good way to take care of both your body and mind. If you feel like it’s hard to make time for exercising, remember that even a little movement can be sufficient and being even a little active is good for you. There’s no need to think that doing intense sports is the only way to exercise, because there’s myriad different sports available.

You will surely find your favourite way to exercise. Everything that moves your bones and muscles and burns more energy than being stationary counts as physical activity. Exercising is more than doing sports or fitness training: it’s also practical, everyday physical activity like walking or riding a bike, doing housework, and taking the stairs.

The Advantages of Exercising: Why Do It?  

• it improves your mood and energy levels 
• it eases depression symptoms 
• it relieves stress 
• it improves sleep quality 
• it prevents and treats many illnesses 
• it promotes useful hormones 
• it is good for your health in various ways 
• better able to focus, learn and remember things 

Find the Best Way of Exercising for You 

Past experiences can affect how we train when we reach adulthood. Some people have negative memories of sports they were forced to do. This might have made them swear off doing any sports or exercise. You’d need to find a suitable and rewarding way of exercising, and not forget about practical physical activity. There are sports which you might not think are serious training but are good enough for keeping you fit, such as dancing, bowling, yoga and pilates.

When searching for that perfect type of exercise, think about what would be in your comfort zone and feel rewarding. Most importantly, you need to recognise your own exercising pattern, its strengths and weaknesses. What motivates you, what is inspiring and what keeps you away from doing sports? Finding your favourite way to exercise increases the likelihood of making movement a permanent way of life for you.

Take some time to think about what exercising means to you. Do you prefer sensation seeking, which allows you to enjoy sports both physically and mentally? Or do you think your choices should reflect your personality and lifestyle?

Exercising can feel more meaningful if you do it in a group which makes you feel like you belong. You might also become an active member in your sports club, which allows you to support others as well enjoying the exercise yourself. The more meaningful you find exercising, the more likely it is to further inspire you. Sometimes exercising can become overtraining, which is too straining for your body. Along with exercising enough, you need to remember to recover by sleeping and taking rest days. Our situation in life also affects how much we can exercise. For instance, after not getting enough sleep or when under a lot of stress, our bodies can’t perform to the maximum. This is why it’s important to listen to your body and its need to move that day. On stressful days, taking a short walk might be the best decision for your mind and body.

Getting even light exercise daily brings you benefits and joy. If you feel like there’s not enough movement in your life, think about the ways to increase your daily amount of exercise. Could you walk or take a bike more when getting around, or could you choose stairs instead of the elevator? These are easy ways to start and fit in your schedule, often unlike new hobbies.

Keep in mind that it might not be easy to suddenly change your behaviour, as it takes lots of repetition to make a habit permanent. It’s simple to make just small changes for your wellbeing first. Here’s a list that might come in handy when you’re planning to make changes.

Things that might help you make wellbeing changes: 

• Choose a small enough goal. The smaller the change, the easier it is to make. If you have trouble starting, the change is most likely too major.  
• Make one change at a time. If you wish to change your exercising habits, don’t alter anything else simultaneously (like change anything in your diet).   
• Keep track of your achievements by writing them down in your calendar. Be proud of each step forward and reward yourself. 
• If you can, agree on making exercise changes with a friend and be there for each other.  
• Support yourself by for example sticking “You can do it!” post-it notes around your apartment. 
• Try to forget ”I should” thinking. Replace it with thoughts about having the opportunity to improve your wellbeing. When you exercise, it’s a gift for your future self.   
• Don’t quit even if you lapse sometimes but keep up the work.  Setbacks are part of the process. Forgive yourself for any occasional lapses because they’re only humane. 
• When you’re starting something new, it’s natural to get bored or tired from time to time. 
• Pick up a new sport if your older hobbies bore you. 
• Think about your values: what do you need and want from exercising? 
• Think about what stands in your way when you should realise good decisions. Is it the lack of time, other people, your health or financial situation, or something else? 

Please remember that food, sleep, and exercise are strongly intertwined and play a notable role in your everyday wellbeing. For instance, exercising makes you hungrier and promotes your sleep. Also having a balanced diet and sleeping enough support exercising. More about eating on chapter two and sleep on chapter three.

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