Do you think of your body the way you think of your car? When a few lucky individuals acquire a sports car that boasts of the best automotive engineering available today, watch them read the maintenance manuals religiously.
They take their car for inspection even if it purrs like a kitten and take it for repairs as soon as something does not feel right. And they’re very concerned.
That car is their most prized possession, a symbol of all the long and hard hours they put on the job so they could finally acquire it. It cost an arm and a leg, so taking care of it is logically, their # 1 priority.
But how important is the person that drives that car? Shouldn’t that person – shouldn’t you – be the #1 priority?
The average lifespan of men and women is 80 years, give or take a few years. The painful truth is, a significant number of men and women look and feel 80 before they even make it to the first half of their life! You spot the tell-tale signs from their physical appearance:
• sagging dry skin
• unsightly posture
• uneven and unsteady walk (they need to drag around those heavy pounds)
• aching joints
• sporting the “I’m not happy because I look terrible” look
Now, if their appearance is this bad, imagine what the inside machinery is like! Most likely, it’s even worse:
• clogged vessels
• inefficient heart
• mounds of sugar and fat parked in or around vital organs
• Conditions such as diabetes, nervous tension, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease that are silently brewing.
If fitness authorities had it their way, they’d create legislation to make exercise mandatory as soon as a baby leaves the cradle, not during the teenage years when obesity is likely to strike.
But fitness shouldn’t be associated with any age limit. You can start at 10 or at 30 – even at 50 and 60 – the idea being that fitness should not be seen as the cure for a condition that’s already come about.
As the saying goes, don’t wait for illness to strike.
That said, if you’re not mentally prepared to accept exercise, please don’t force yourself. Just be familiar with its benefits and when you’re wholeheartedly disposed towards giving it a crack in the can, proceed slowly. “Slowly but surely” is the exercise cult’s favorite slogan.