Exercise!

Photo Credit: Flickr

Think of the word exercise for a moment. What other words would you associate with it? Sweat, gym, workout, burnout, and what not. Do you notice how, by and large, we associate a negative sentiment to it?

Why don’t we most of us associate more positive words such as flexibility, strength, rejuvenation, me-time, etc. to exercising?

Culturally, we have had very limited exposure and encouragement to exercise and even play sports. These are considered as “extra-curricular” and therefore, by consequence, less important and optional activities.

Earlier, I too had a negative and dispassionate approach towards exercising. It was my health-conscious sister, who initiated me to the gym, then to yoga and other forms of exercises.

Prior to this, my mom had initiated both her daughters to swimming, which is a great full-body workout, apart from being a fun-filled leisure activity.

These were my early experiences with exercising, and frankly, they weren’t even a little bit antagonizing.

We often stop ourselves before taking the first step on the treadmill, doing the first ab crunch, making the first lap in the pool, attending the first aerobic or zumba class, trying the first complicated yoga posture, and so on.

If structured exercising isn’t the thing for you, there are many ways in which you can exercise ad hoc. Given my work schedule, which keeps me busy from Mon-Fri, I have resorted to such an ad hoc exercising format. 

These include brisk walking, skipping, doing squats and lunges, floor and stretching exercises. I am even contemplating purchasing a bicycle, since cycling is a wonderful way to exercise one’s lower body. Possessing a cycle, versus using the gym cycle, is an advantage since you can travel to different places and combine exercise with pleasure.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The basic principle of exercising is really very simple- get up and move; sometimes it’s even sit down and move or better still, lie down and move!

You can make exercising more fun by adding your favourite music tracks, the way it’s done in most gymnasiums. And yes, you CAN exercise at home if you’re committed to it and you truly enjoy the experience.

I hope that more and more people take to exercising and feel the exhilaration of going that extra mile. E.g. the sense of achievement one feels when she/he progresses from lifting 1.5 Kg of dumbbells to 2.5 Kg.

Girls and guys, give exercising a fair chance, irrespective of your age too. Choose a form of exercise which appeals to you the most. Start with Youtube exercise videos for beginners and keep building up from there.

You don’t need to set aside hours for exercise; a few minutes of high-intensity workout can be equally satisfying and productive for you.

Give it a shot!