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| Exercise is boring | ||
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Common knowledge
Most people know that eating healthily is good
for you. They know approximately what to eat and how much. But how many people really eat well?
The same is true of exercise. Virtually everyone is well aware that
exercise can significantly improve your
fitness. So why doesn't everyone exercise?
2 reasons
There are 2 simple reasons why most people don't exercise:
Boredom
Hard work
Boredom
If you look at a popular form of exercise such as running, it is easy to see why
many people don't exercise.
Running is not mentally complex or physically sophisticated. It essentially
involves doing the same thing again and again and again.
This is why people often wear headphones and play music: often they are bored.
The risk of heart failure
was more than double for men who sat for at least five hours a day outside
of work and didn't exercise very much, compared with men who were physically
active and sat for less than two hours a day.
(Dr. Deborah Rohm)
Hard work
Running is hard work. If you persist with running and enjoy the experience, the
sensation of running and the endorphin can make running fun.
Most forms of exercise are repetitive and hard work. Working hard is actually
part of what makes it 'exercise'.
The drawbacks of exercise
Not all forms of exercise are necessarily good for you. For example, running may
improve cardiovascular health but is also very hard on the joints.
Lifting heavy weights can cause significant tension to accumulate and - if the
muscles are large enough - adversely affect the skeleton. Most forms of exercise
have pros and cons; especially sport.
The blast
Many people go for an exercise 'blast' once a week and then suffer afterwards.
People go from sitting stationary for long hours each day to suddenly
undertaking rigorous, demanding exercise.
They are unfit, not supple, not flexible and the muscles have become weak. There
is little or no bodily awareness.
Side effects of a 'blast'
Poor alignment, unrealistic ambitions and a failure to warm-up thoroughly enough
result in health problems.
Many people go to the gym, lift heavy weights and then suffer from
injuries, or run with an
unhealthy, unbalanced, tension-filled
technique.
Would-be martial artists do no training all week and yet expect to engage in
challenging combat uninjured...
Does exercise need to be hard work?
There is some leeway in terms of what 'hard work' constitutes. Normally when
people think of hard work, they associate this with puffing and panting, getting
out of breath, exertion and strain.
These can be avoided.
Does exercise need to be boring?
No. There are certain forms of exercise that require you to engage more
fully with the activity. Most martial arts fall into this category.
Deepening your knowledge and understanding is essential. A superficial level
of practice is inadequate.
More...
Page created
18 April 2005
Last updated
04 May 2023