«

»

Making Time to Be Healthy

 

Scarybooster has a good post up encouraging gamers to break the stereotype of being overweight, unmotivated, and generally thought of as lazy. We all know how un-true this is, but one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of my gaming buddies don’t find time for exercise in their daily routine. There are the usual excuses of not having time, or space, or money to shell out for a gym membership. I’m here to tell you that they are only excuses.

I’m going to be frank: I hate working out. I do, and I procrastinate with it worse than any regular exerciser you probably know. Worse, I’m embarrassed to be seen doing it. I need privacy or it’s not going to happen. So this gym stuff? Yeah, out of the picture. And yet, every single day I get off my butt and go through a short routine to “maintain.” I’m beyond the point of wanting to impress other men. I went through the weight lifting phase most teen guys do and got myself to the point of being able to match much burlier guys than myself in arm wrestling matches. Needless to say, once you get out of the alpha-male mentality you’re arm wrestling days are pretty much through. Once you hit a certain point, your priority becomes more about not gaining weight rather than making sure you can beat Joe Somebody in a fight.

 

This is all to say that if I can work exercise into my day, anyone can. And it’s important. Spend a lot of time sitting? Deep vein thrombosis might be in your future. This includes desk jobs. Want to live longer? Get up mid-session and stretch your legs. Before you sit down to relax in the evening, take 10-15 minutes and do some crunches.

My routine goes something like this:

  • 25 push-ups – hands close together
  • 75 crab-squats – because no one wants a flabby ass
  • 250-300 crunches – much less than it sounds
  • 25 push-ups – hands apart

All-in-all it’s about 10 minutes, makes me sweat a little (but not enough to require a change of clothes), and gets my heart rate up. I don’t eat the best when my wife isn’t home, so sometimes I gain a few tenths of a pound and have to make it up the next day, but for the last eight years this routine has kept me floating in a weight range I’m comfortable with. My wife and I also like to walk for an hour or so a few times a week; it gives us time to reconnect after the work day and enjoy the fresh air. Here’s another tip, count up how many calories you’re taking in throughout the day. Scale that back progressively over a couple days and don’t exercise. Soon you’ll find out how many calories your body uses in a day without any exercise at all. It will give you some basic knowledge on how your body works and how much you can eat without worrying about packing on the pounds.

All this to say that getting yourself into a routine takes some work and dedication but is one of the best decisions you can make. When I was young, I used to be the fat kid. I got picked on and I hated it. Today though, maybe it was a blessing, because without that I doubt I’d pay as much attention today. Be the guy (or girl) who’s still looking good at your high school reunion. You’ll walk away feeling better about yourself — even if the only person who notices is you. That’s who you’re doing this for.

[I agree with Scary. If you’re a blogger, spread the word and share what you do to take care of yourself. If you’re a reader, leave a comment — here or somewhere else. This is important, and even if only a single person takes our lead, it’s worth the time it takes to share. Help some folks get that extra year or ten with their families.]

10 pings

Skip to comment form

Leave a Reply to Chris Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

CommentLuv badge