“Exercise? Sorry, I don’t have the time.”

How often have we heard of the above being said whenever we hope to get someone to do some exercise which is for their own good?

Of course, we have our priorities. What are our priorities? Are they more important than something which ensures that we reach the end of of our life still fit and healthy enough to walk around, at the least?

Most of us may have our hours in our career as the factor which deters us from taking up some form of daily exercise. Other than carreers, time with the family and sleep what other involvements in our lives which ought to be given priorities?

Entertainment, recreation and relaxation are necessary but not priorities. Furthermore such things can be found in our jobs, time with our family, sleep as well as during exercise.

On the job, we meet friends; entertain each other with jokes, comments and gossip and during such times, relax a while before proceeding with the job on hand. As for recreation, some jobs in themselves can be certain forms of recreation. Physical recreation as well relaxation, and perhaps, entertainment are found in a brisk half-hour walk with friends. When it comes to the family, entertainment, recreation and relaxation can be part and parcel of a family do.

Even for the busiest among us, we can still have a little time for exercise everyday by taking the stairs instead of the escalator or lift. We can park a little further from our work place to walk quickly to the office. In fact it is advisable to get off our chairs to stretch our legs and straighten our backbone to get a little exercise and prevent our spine from getting compressed and pinching a nerve to give us pain. You will be surprised how many office workers suffer some kind of back problems.

However, if you are one of those who do physical work everyday; an aerobics instructor or a farmer; then you do not need to find that time for exercise as your own work provides sufficient exercise.

For the rest of us, we need to find the time to exercise unless we wish to grow old before our time. I believe none of us would want to reach sixty years of age to have to sit in front of the television the whole day, unable to do almost anything. That is the worst scenario. Perhaps, we could be better and be able to inch our way towards some place, unable to stretch our legs wider in order to walk faster. Such scenarios are for people who do not exercise. For those who do, no matter what the age, we can still walk and run at a good pace even though we may be a little weaker than when we were young.

Let us not start to think of exercising only when we no longer can. It might be a little too late to remedy the situation. Car engines that break down can be overhauled or replaced easily but not the human engine; not within the forseeable future anyway.

That brings me to what someone told me the other day. She said, “Some people think only of earning money with no time for exercise and recreation. They do not even have the time to spend their money. They do not realize that money which is not used is does not give them the value of money. It is merely figures in an account or pieces of paper in a safe. And when these people who do not care for their health fall sick, they would have to give all that money to hospitals, doctors and medicine. See?”

So, do the right thing and lovingly keep our only body strong and healthy
as it is the only one we have. With it in good condition, we can enjoy this life to the full. Without that, what more can we do?