There's a reason . . .

I count myself extremely lucky.  Blessed to have been born at a time and under ideal circumstances which afforded me incredible opportunities.  In retrospect, one disadvantage I may have had growing up was that I had no notion of the benefits and joy of distance running until I was well out of my teens.  It wasn't until my mid-twenties that I got serious in the sport and for all intents and purposes never left it.  While I don't run any longer, coaching keeps me "in the game" so-to-speak.  And after many years of training I still miss running and continue exercising to the extent possible.  There's a very good reason for that. While some of it is personal pride or, as others suggest, obsessive behavior, I think the primary factor is the desire to live as healthy and long a life as possible. The truth is life is not a dress rehearsal.  You only get one chance and as the idiom goes "health is everything".  

Today's blog entry really appeals to those who don't know what we know, or at least have little, if any, experience in distance training.  Hundreds of your classmates.  Many of your relatives.  So I'm doing what I can to spread the word.

I read an article earlier today, which in part, reads:  

“The most surprising finding of our study was that individuals with higher-than-average steps per day or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had higher-than-average fitness levels regardless of how much time they spent sedentary. This would indicate that much of the negative effect that being sedentary has on fitness may be offset by also having higher levels of activity and exercise,” says the study’s first author, Matthew Nayor, the Aram Chobanian Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Sections of Cardiovascular Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at Boston University Medical Center.

“Physical activity is a cornerstone for modern cardiovascular disease prevention,” says study co-senior author Ravi Shah, director of Clinical and Translational Research in Cardiology at Vanderbilt. “These results support ongoing efforts to improve activity as a means to improve overall cardiometabolic health.” 

The entire article can be viewed at the following link:  Every Step Counts

An excerpt from another article I read recently, states:

Our sedentary tendencies may be robbing us of a key benefit of physical activity: the myriad repair mechanisms that heal the minor dings and tears of hunter-gatherer and farming lifestyles, a deficit that may be particularly damaging as we age.

Research on the rewards of exercise, including findings on how it protects mental health and helps us burn calories and maintain strength, is prodigious.

The entire article can be viewed at the following link:  Learn from Hunter-Gatherers 

I'll try not to preach.  I do what I do because I enjoy it and because I believe it keeps me healthier than I'd be in the absence of it.  Next time a friend or a loved one decides to get off the couch and get a little exercise in, encourage them.  In fact, join them.  You'll all be better for it.

Post Script 10/26:  Today's read, Conversation on Aging ,included the following excerpt:

. . . studies found that, to a large degree, personality characteristics were constant over time. And they could be predictive of health outcomes—for example, optimism was associated with some positive health outcomes. 

Words to live by. Stay positive.