We all know how important working out is.
Human beings were never meant for desk jobs. We were never designed to sit in a chair all day (especially not in this situation), staring at a glowing, radiating screen two feet in front of our faces. Yet somehow, along the course of our evolution in the last few decades, our time is spent mostly doing things that we were never designed for.
We aren’t robots, we’re the progeny of wild animals that spent all their days/nights outside, doing physical activity. We’re a few hundred generations removed from having to hunt for our food, but the biological and mental tools that helped us survive the wild still govern our daily choices.
We know how bad it is to sit down at a desk all day long for our body. It doesn’t help that we drink sugar coffees and have snacks to keep us alert (or at least happy!) but besides the physical element of sitting at a desk all day, the mental effects can also be felt.
Stay Active
Staying active doesn’t have to mean weight loss. There are many ways that we can get more active to improve our physical and mental state, without the goal of sweating in a gym with a personal trainer yelling at you.
Staying active can be as simple as going for a walk. There are lots of work out options that aren’t aggressive boot camps, or centre around heavyweights. Resistance training exercises with a $20 band set (available at any sports store) can help improve mobility and help you combat nagging repetitive stress injuries that are common with IT workers and other people who work at a computer all day long.
Stay Mentally Fit
So we know that working out and exercising is important for our bodies, but it’s also extremely, and arguably more important for our mental states.
When we work out, exert physical exercise or just simply walk, besides the physical elements we are taking time to think a break our cycle of daily chaos. Even basic exercises can help reduce stress, relieve hypertension and improve your overall mental state.
Keep in mind that even a 20-minute walk or a 15-minute yoga exercise can go a long way, and they don’t cost anything or even take up that much time! These basic physical exercises can offer a huge benefit to our mental state, and for many of us, that should be the goal instead of focusing on weight loss.
Working Out Regularly
Working out regularly with a personal trainer can transform the way you feel both mentally and physically. For many of us, the financial commitment and schedule that is involved with a personal trainer set the foundations for regular workouts.
For others, it could be a weekly pickup game of dodgeball, basketball or tennis with a friend. In the summer, many couples sign up for group sports like soccer or ultimate Frisbee. Talk about a great way to stay active while having fun!
No matter what activity you choose to partake in, the point is that staying active can help you feel better mentally, and not just physically.
