Simple Wellness - Get Moving

3.8
Can't Sit Still
Eighth post in a Simple Wellness series

After a few short runs and logging about 6 miles total this year, I got out for a real run (two actually) today.** It was great to be out on the road and launch my running for 2016. I have about 4 weeks to prepare for the first organized run of the season (a 5-miler) and two weeks after that is my first half-marathon of the season.

Why do I bring this up? Because getting our bodies moving is vital to our wellness journey. Experts would say we need about 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. The American Heart Association supports the guide of 10,000 steps a day as a target for consistent physical activity. For me, I've found that some simple goals throughout the year keep me active enough to maintain my wellness.

The point is, regular physical activity can't be a phase or a fad or just something nice to hope for. Our lives are at stake. Our bodies are meant to move, to be physically pushed on some regular basis, and to be taxed with some movement on a daily basis.

I've noted about lymphatic circulation in Power Pantry before. and how vigorous physical activity is basically the only way lymph fluid circulates through our bodies, filtering and eliminating toxins from our bloodstream. Without vigorous physical movement like walking, running, and other 'cardio' activities, the toxins stay in our tissues. Stored toxins in our fat and organs wait to do damage over time as they build up. 

If you find life has gotten sedentary, start by setting some simple goals. Get a pedometer and consistently log 2,000 or 3,000 steps a day. Once you do that for several weeks, bump the level a couple of thousand steps. As your body moves toxins out of your system, there's a good chance you'll find energy you haven't had in a long time, and a growing desire for additional physical movement. That's a great virtuous cycle, and a strong underpinning of simple wellness.

Get moving today. Don't put it off... I know how hard it is to find the motivation, and we can find ourselves asking, "why am I doing this?" daily. But soon you'll turn some corners physically and mentally. Your body will thank you, and it will reward you by feeling better. From that motivation, you can build toward 10,000 steps a day or more, and you'll be on your way to wellness.

**By the Way

Even though I just started my running for this season, I've been logging a lot of activity for months. Some time ago, I set my step goal at 15,000 steps a day, and I've been doggedly pursuing that every day since (through jumping jacks, burpees, mountain-climbers, jumping rope, running-in-place, etc.). Some days I don't get there; many days I do.

Combine that with a lot of core work (planks, crunches) and upper-body workouts, and I'm in fairly good shape. Problem is, I may not be in the right shape for running, but the season is young... 

Simple Wellness - Not Alone

3.7
Go Far - Together
Seventh post in a Simple Wellness series

A wellness lifestyle is just a lot of small commitments, linked together by time and experience. And one of the most effective commitments we can make in our wellness journey is to travel our wellness paths with others. Jumping on a diet bandwagon is one thing, but resolving to make specific improvements in how we are living, and walking those commitment out with other people, is a lot better.

If you're like me, you've grabbed onto a new initiative at some point in life and chased it with focused abandon, only to have your progress interrupted by life and derailed by circumstances. "The weather's too ______ (hot, cold, wet, dreary...),"  "I'm just not ______ (excited, progressing, focused...) like I thought I would..."
No worries. This happens to all of us, and it in no way makes us a failure to have these episodes of real-life distraction. The key is to have support already there, and keep us, and them, on track by journeying together.

What's the magic in having a travelling buddy? It's the accountability that comes from life-on-life commitments to decisions and goals. And when we find someone who shares our wellness perspectives and will stick with us through thick and thin, the real benefit comes as that accountability keeps us from falling prey to our circumstances. Having a wellness companion keeps us from thinking like a victim and helps us overcome and press on, instead of shrinking back and giving up.

Where do you find a great wellness partner? Wherever they appear. It can be our spouse, a brother or sister, a friend from work, or that cousin who has a gym membership across town. These days we can even have an accountability partner vicariously, like a Tony Horton, through P90X videos and YouTube posts. The question isn't who it is, or where they come from, the question is will you commit to journeying with someone else?

So if you haven't made the decision to find one or more wellness partners to share your journey, make the commitment and ask someone to join you. There's a chance they will be as glad to join you as you are to have them along on your journey.

By the Way

There is an quote I like, often attributed as an African proverb:
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Find a wellness buddy today, and go far, together.