If you spend any amount of time on the interwebs, and you’re here, so I’m going to assume you do… you will know that for every single fitness/exercise/wellness blogger out there, there is a corresponding “program” that they like to encourage their readers to try. There is nothing wrong with this. Something I tell clients and students all the time is that there are so many different options out there because we each like something a bit different, are motivated by something a little different, or our own personal physiologies work best with a different program than a friend.
All that info floating around out there is part of what inspired this particular blog. It’s a lot to sift through. Ironically, even with wellness starting to come into its own, you rarely see anything very long term focused. So today, let’s chat about your health bank account.
I have mentioned before that one of my favorite questions to ask clients is about what they see themselves physically being able to do when they are 70 or 75. A solid nine times out of ten, they don’t have an answer. We have been conditioned to seek out fitness advice and expertise when there is something we want to “fix.” There are the obvious and legitimate something-is-actually-broken reasons like a sports injury, an accident, or a condition we’d like to manage. There are also those high level athletes who need professional help when it comes to managing their training. But very often, what we want to change isn’t something broken per se, but some improvement we want to see for the vanity of it.
Let me be clear, losing weight or “toning” up are perfectly admirable goals, but I’ve said it before, nobody gets a prize for being the best looking corpse. I want my clients and students to start thinking about their body almost the same way they think about their retirement portfolio. If you don’t put something in, if you don’t have any investment, you are going to hit retirement age and have a really difficult time. It’s just as true for your physical body as it is for money.
Think about it this way, one important decision that most of us have to make is how much of our paychecks we are going to devote to our long term savings. And for most of us, no matter what percentage that is, that number hurts to see. We don’t like that we have to put a bit of our money away. But, over time, it just becomes a line item on our pay stubs and we sort of forget about. Until that annual statement comes and we see how hard that money was working for us. No, having a nice looking portfolio is not going to solve every single problem, nor are you able to plan for every contingency, but having that cushion creates the ability to weather storms.
Our health is the same way. Just like 401ks at open enrollment time, this is the boring stuff. I get it, losing 50 pounds or beating a PR is way grabbier and much more motivating. But, if we are willing to invest a small percentage of our time and energy now, we can reap some serious rewards later. All it takes is some consistent exercise, anything you want. Whatever makes you feel good, and if that changes in the next year, month, or even week, that’s okay, just keep moving. The research is starting to show that cardio, strength training, yoga, CrossFit, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are doing it consistently. That consistency is what maintains our heart and lung function; helps alleviate the onset of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, MS, Parkinson’s, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases; induces better outcomes when strokes or cancers do happen; and keeps our mental functions strong too.
So, even if all you think you are putting in your health bank account right now are a few pennies, just remember the theory of compound interest! What are you putting in your health bank account?
Until next time, be well friends!
