Sheltering in place is not a Call to Inaction
It has been estimated that 80% of Americans give up on their New Year’s Resolution by the second week in February. Our goals of exercising and eating less go out the window until next year. Make this time of social inaction a time of action by rethinking bettering your health. A good place to start is by moving more; exercise decreases pain, decreases stress, improves our sleep, and boosts our immune system. Dust off those weights, take the laundry off that treadmill in the basement, or better yet, get outside for some Vitamin D!
Last year my good friend asked me to run in our local New Year’s Eve Resolution 5K. I hated running, but I knew that I needed to be more active. The day of the 5K, it rained and was cold, but we decided to put on our running shoes and go anyway. I walked all of the hills and my friend ran circles around me and cheered me on the whole way. We finished in the soaking rain, and I felt really great and empowered! I also realized that if I didn’t have a goal, I wouldn’t run again until the next resolution run.
My 2019 New Year’s resolution became running one 5K a month. At first if felt like too much, especially when dragging my family along so that I could run a 5K in 8 degree weather; but by the fifth month, I really looked forward to lining up at the start line. Around that time, one of my patients said they were getting in shape by participating in a triathlon. I wondered if my body could do a triathlon. My 5Ks gave me confidence that I could at least finish, so I signed up for a mini-triathlon and then a sprint. I don’t sprint, but I did finish!
2019 was a great year, I became more active, my body changed, I didn’t get much faster and I still can’t say I love running, but I appreciate that it is a cost effective and efficient way for me to burn some calories. My goal was just to do it, just get the participation award. I also gained confidence that I could achieve other goals, I enjoy running as a way of reducing stress, and training to keep up with my kids.
The best thing to do is pick something that you can regularly commit to doing. Focus first on routinely committing to something that you enjoy doing; then once you have created the habit of participation, you can work on increasing the intensity and varying the activity. It should be low cost, easy to add to everyday life, and at this point something you can do 6 feet away from others.
