I work out with a personal trainer, not because I am posh or fancy. I make the financial investment to work out with Coach Moe because to quote him, I want to give the folks who love me the gift of my health. Coach, as I call him, is all about promoting health as opposed to body size. And to be honest, although I like to be healthy, I had never thought about exercise in quite that way. But now I have shifted my paradigm, I work out because I don’t want my children and my loved ones to watch me suffer from preventable diseases; I want to avoid broken bones; and I don’t want to be limited in what I can and can’t do because of my health.
Working out also helps with my mental health. It is one of the tools I use to keep my anxiety under control. Coach creates full body workouts that include cardio and weights, but my favorite is kick boxing. When I am kicking and punching it is cathartic. I get a lot of my frustrations out during kickboxing. I do my workouts at the top of my day, so by 8:30 AM Monday – Friday, I walk out of my workouts sweating and feeling good.
Working out with Coach, walking, riding my bike and stretching (way less than Coach wants me to) are the ways I exercise. But I also stay away from fast food, processed foods, and dairy, limit fried foods, and try desperately and I mean desperately – to stay away from sugar. Luckily I don’t need medication to monitor any medical conditions so I also do my best not to take medicines on a regular basis. I am also vigilant about my mental health and about resting. I get regular check ups and try to pay close attention to my body.
My mother is 73 years old. She walks daily, has excellent hearing, is mentally sharp, and works in the garden as much as possible. She had a medical issue earlier this year and the medical professionals were shocked that she only takes one prescription medicine on a regular basis. She has given my sister and me the gift of her health and believe me, we appreciate it. We are fortunate and she has always taken good care of herself. I want my children to be able to enjoy me the way we enjoy my mother.
Coach always talks about being able to run around with his grandchildren. I don’t run unless I am being chased, but I want to be able to have energy to travel and live my entire best life. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone, I don’t want to live on medication, or struggle with preventable illnesses.
My job is demanding, I manage multiple projects and multiple teams on a daily basis. Life is forever throwing curve balls, just surviving a pandemic has taken its toll and I just lived through a hurricane. Yet, I have managed to navigate the past few years in good physical and mental health.
I used to reward myself with bags, shoes and clothes and of course those things don’t last. Don’t get me wrong I still buy shoes and bags, but way less than I used to. But the gift of health I give myself weekly, will offer me the best returns on my investment.
What are you doing to invest in your own health?
Awesome article. The way that exercise affects your whole being is amazing. This is what the should have taught us in gym class instead of just making it a competitive realm for the fittest. Tell your mom I said “Hi!”
Facts. It would have been way more appealing to me if I had understood then the connection between exercise and brain functioning.