Year 2020 is underway, and the new year resolutions are in full force. What better way to make a new year’s resolution than focusing on the health of your body and mind? Eating healthier foods, staying away from sweets, laying off booze, and making it to the gym are all fantastic methods to reinforce the wellbeing of our bodies. While we focus on such healthy trends to aid us in our health and fitness goals of losing weight and decreasing the likelihood of metabolic diseases, sometimes we forget about how we actually treat ourselves. Are we following these trends because of what the doctor says or millions of messages that we get from the news or social media? Or, are we purposely taking time out to plan to be kind to ourselves? If we want our mind, body, and spirit to be top of the line for the people we support, it’s important to look in the mirror and support that person first. One of the easiest and financially effortless way to treat yourself to some much needed “you time” is to put the phone down, get out of the car, step away from the fire hose of electronic device shooting social media and news in your face, and focus on moving your body.
2019 may have produced a lot of success for us. It could have offered us some challenges as well. Stressful experiences can linger on our minds. Personal or work-related mental hardships that may have been beyond our control take time to process. Overcoming these events aren’t easy. On the flip side, we could have had a lot of success. Job promotions, welcoming a baby into the family, getting married, or graduating from school are all accomplishments that bring joy to our lives. However, these are produced from experiencing mental, physical, and emotional challenges. To help us cope with these times, we might stay up later watching Netflix or utilize alcohol as medication to calm nerves. These detrimental biproducts of stress can cause an increase in stress hormones levels, increased blood pressure, weight gain, and grumpiness toward the people we care and love. Even though success is a good thing, we can get tunnel vision and focus on the next obstacle to overcome. Focusing solely on the next big project, financial logistics or the next semester at school can elicit more stress on ourselves in a vicious cycle. Putting ourselves last will significantly hinder our wellbeing after prolonged neglect. If we neglect ourselves, we harm the environment we work so hard to support our friends, family and loved ones. Decreased movement, low adherence to exercise, and limited time to ourselves will elicit symptoms of depression, irritability, and stress. Luckily, the new year’s fitness resolutions are the perfect cure.
A popular phrase that we might be familiar with regarding exercise goes, “The hardest part about exercise is showing up and getting started.” The author of this article can relate to that statement. However, when people finish an exercise session, they usually feel amazing. Following exercise, we feel energized, confident, sleep better, waking up well rested, and have decreased pain from previous injuries. The list can go on for another few pages. Physiologically, circulating stress hormones decrease and positive mood enhancing hormones such as dopamine increase. Fat cells begin to go away and lean muscle cells start to grow. Add in a comment from your friends and coworkers about your positive mood and flattering physique after a month of regular exercise, you have a win-win situation when braving the first grueling minutes of exercise session and passing the finish line upon its completion.
One of the biggest culprits that hold us back from exercise is lack of time and distractions, such as cell phones and wearable technology that link us to the never-ending stream of news and conversations in our social circle. To make time for ourselves, we can set these distractions momentarily aside by scheduling a time to exercise. This time can made exclusively for you and no one else. Our personal training clients in Napa take 75 minutes once or twice a week to complete their exercise routines. During these training sessions, exercise participants are instructed to put their phones on silent and set them in a cubby 10 yards away from their fingertips. This way they can focus solely on their much-needed exercise routine and their own wellbeing. This setting where we set aside the necessities that tie us to our obligations in life don’t need to be in a gym setting. What if we set our phones and watch phones aside when we went on a hike, a walk along the Napa River, a Yoga class, or a few games of Pickleball? This time out of your car, away from your phone, or out of the office and classroom can act as an advanced form of mediation. When this time is scheduled away from distractions, we get to focus on what gets overlooked the most, ourselves.
Let’s make 2020 an epic year for our friends, family, and loved ones. Take some time out for ourselves away from the hamster wheel of “go go go.” Improve the health, strength, and happiness of the one who makes a difference in other’s lives. Take some time out for you this year.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
