Eight years ago, I was not doing well mentally or physically. I was depressed and frustrated with my life. I needed to make some drastic changes in my life. I did and it has made all the difference.
For someone who competed at the highest levels of my sport through college, I couldn’t imagine anything but a weekly exercise routine that was challenging and excruciating. As I have grown older, one of the great discoveries in my journey to maximum mental and physical health is that a little is better than none. What I mean is simple. I would rather consistently do a little exercise, a short workout, than do nothing.
It’s liberating not to be overly stressed about the perfect workout routine. Rather, I have become more motivated by the vision of consistent activity versus hardcore exercise. There are many days, I am just not motivated to do much, but I am motivated to go on a short prayer walk. The old me would just shrug off both and feel guilty the next day for missing another day of staying in shape.
If you ask any personal trainer, they will tell you that the biggest mistake their clients make is setting too high of goals and then quitting because of the difficulty of maintaining such a schedule. Isn’t it better to do a little, consistently, than starting and quitting because it’s too hard?
These are some of the little workouts I maintain on a regular basis:
- When I get up from sitting, doing knee bends (air squats) next to my desk at work.
- Raising up my straight arms to my side and rotating them for 10 seconds, dropping them down by my side and repeating three times.
- Lifting up my backpack and laying it back down three times.
- Parking further away from the entrance to the store and walking the distance.
- Take a five-minute walk around the building and parking lot of our church.
Little workouts build confidence and confidence builds momentum. It was through the small steps of regular workouts that began to retrain my mind and body toward health. Today I have a regular routine that involves a mix of weights, walking, and outdoor activities that have had a huge impact in my overall outlook on life.
Pastor Steve
