Recently on Now We’re Talking, we talked Physical and Mental Fitness with Certified Personal Trainer, author, and educational consultant, Kenji Jackson. Among other things, we had an awesome discussion about the top excuses busy people use for not exercising, and the keys to overcoming them. This discussion led us to MTA – MONEY, TIME and ACCOUNTABILITY.
“I don’t have the extra money in my budget for a gym membership.” While this may be true, the keys to improved physical fitness – and mental fitness, are not locked inside of a gym. In fact, people stayed in remarkable shape long before the advent of commercial gym chains. The reality is that our own body weight, stationary objects like the floor, a wall, and a chair (with an assist from our good friend gravity) are all we need to do the planks, squats, dips, sit-ups, and push-ups that will improve our physical (and mental) core strength, muscle tone and endurance. Compliments of BKS Fitness, here’s a sample workout that you can do right in your home or office:
“I don’t have the time to exercise.” You’re right, I don’t know your life, BUT, I’m willing to guess that you, like all of us, make the time for the things we think are most important, and the things that bring us some pleasure, whether its watching Netflix, checking social media, hanging out with friends or talking on the phone. Did you know that “according to the first-quarter 2018 Nielsen Total Audience Report, nearly half an adult’s day,” “over 11 hours,” is spent consuming media? (Nielsen.com) This means that of that 11 hours that we are surfing/posting to Facebook, IG, Twitter, watching Netflix, Hulu, Prime, or our favorite guilty-pleasure TV – you really can mike a decision to dedicate 15-30 minutes of that time to pay yourself – and love yourself – by improving your physical and mental health – even if you start by merely stretching and taking a walk in your neighborhood or up and down stairs in your home.
“If I don’t exercise, what difference will it make – who will care?” Sometimes we believe that it won’t make a difference, or that we’re too out of shape to even begin. Sometimes we’re discouraged by how difficult it seems to do pretty basic things. But in this thought process, our own worst enemy is OUR OWN MIND – feeding us negative energy and negative thoughts. Self-ACCOUNTABILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY partners will go a long way to combat this negative thought process. Set short term and then long term goals for yourself. Create a vision board you can see everyday to remind you to keep pushing, even when self-motivation is low. Find at least one friend who has similar goals to be better and do better and hold each other accountable for effort and progress.
The science is irrefutable that improved physical health correlates to improved mental health – mood, happiness, self-confidence, self-esteem, energy, focus and more. Putting all these pieces together will go a long way to making you feel better, look better, and step your game up in every aspect of your life. To check out this episode of Now We’re Talking, click here.
– Mervin A. Bourne, Jr.