Health.
Exercise.
Its crucial.
To everything.
Your minds ability to function.
To process and to create.
For your happiness.
Gratitude
Calm.
I feel the most alive, grateful, thankful and creative after a great session of exercise.
The muscles are pumping, causing blood and oxygen to flow around our system and our brains. Aerobic and cardiovascular exercise such as running encourages the release of growth factors into our brains, chemicals which make our brain cells healthier, encourage new cell growth and help these new cells stay alive.
It’s also just a plain mood booster.
On the days when you just don’t want to go for a workout, or a run or short walk.
When work has been a bitch, you’re tired, your head is heavy.
THAT’S WHEN YOU NEED TO GET OUT.
Even for half an hour of walking slightly faster than you usually do.
Take stock of your mental clarity afterwards.
It’s like a magnifying glass has been thrust into your skull allowing you to see all your bitchy
excuses and allowed room to come up with new ideas.
Creativity flows.
If you aren’t exercising regularly, I beg you to start. I’m not talking about going out and lifting weights for 3 hours a day, or running 15 kilometres each day if you haven’t run since your last high school cross country.
Go for a walk.
Or a jog.
And repeat. Build up from there, build your base level of fitness.
The urge to eat shit food will diminish.
You’ll think clearer. You’ll be more grateful and happier for the things you have.
Once you consistently start sweating.
Key word- CONSISTENTLY.
Start small and build it up. Start with a few pushups, whatever makes you sweat.
And when you get to the point where you feel like you can’t do another one,
Do one more.
Fuck it, do two more.
Because you can.
It’s all mental.
And building the habit of doing more than you thought was capable of yourself is a sure-fire
way to set you up for success. You just need to translate it into every area of your life.
Time spent with your kids.
Your effort of work at work.
A side hustle.
It will build yourself belief and CONFIDENCE.
Try it. Consistently.
Not when you feel like it.
But every day, sweat.
So, what can YOU do?
You could:
Go for a fast walk with some proper intensity
Go for a run or jog just around your house or to your favourite scenic spot
Do body weight exercises at home- such as pushups, crunches, plank, side plank, V-ups, side crunches, Russian twists (with or without holding a weight in your hands), mountain climbers, burpees, bicycle crunches, star jumps, squat jumps.
With these types of bodyweight exercises, either set yourself a little circuit, e.g:
o 10 Pushups
o 10 Crunches
o 10 Mountain Climbers
o 10 Burpees
o 10 Star Jumps
o 10 Squat Jumps
o 10 Crunches
o 10 Lunges (each leg)
And do it twice through with no break or three to four times with a little break, aiming for high intensity and speed.
Or you can set a higher assigned number to each exercise and just do that a few times through, E.G my current little ab workout that I’ll do at the end of another workout consists of 50 Crunches, 50 Side crunches (on each side) two or three times through, with some other exercises that I’ll pick on the day such as planks, Russian twists, V-Ups etc.
You could join a gym or exercise group, there are many many different types:
Traditional gyms with weights sections and cardio sections. You could sign up and get a couple of personal training sessions to properly identify your goals and to learn how to reach them and properly use all the equipment (because it is very daunting at first, I remember the first time I walked into a gym be myself I was like whaaaat). Some gyms hold classes for different activities and purposes- for Ab’s or cardio or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)- aimed at different activities
Join a boxing gym or group for intense cardio workouts
Get a running partner or join a local running group, I know that in many countries and locations there is a group called Parkrun that hold weekly runs for all ages and fitness levels. I have one near me and its honestly a great run and everyone is really supportive. Have a look to see if there is one near you: https://www.parkrun.com/
Yoga or Pilates- my mum has done both and LOVES them, at the moment she is doing Hot Yoga, where you perform yoga exercises in a heated up, steamy room. She keeps telling me and my brother we should do it, maybe someday.
Go swimming if it’s warm enough for you (or just toughen up). Swimming’s great for building endurance and cardiovascular ability, as well as general functional strength.
Join an organised sport like soccer, Futsal, tennis, basketball, athletics, netball, cycling, table tennis, gymnastics or anything else that takes your interest- there is literally a website that lists all the types of sport groups are in Australia- https://sport.nsw.gov.au/getactive/find-a-sport. If you’re not a pro, don’t worry. Same here. Many of the sporting options have options to participate just in local and casual competitions and training, meaning you’ll be part of a hopefully great social environment as well as getting some exercise in.
There are MANY options for anyone looking to get fitter or into exercise or looking to change up their exercise. When it comes down to it though, it’s not hard. It’s just about getting MOVING and eating decently. Literally just run up the closest hill 5-10 times or see how many pushups you can do in a row three times. Do SOMETHING, as long as it’s more than you’re doing now.
Just get started.
It’s not hard. The only thing holding people back is excuses, most of the time are conjured from within our own minds anyway. They are figments of our imagination.
So give it a go.
Go.
Misha, N.Y.A.
Something Small
We all want to pretend that we know
We put on this glow and put our lives on for show
But inside we know there’s a fraud
Who laughs and calls
Counts down the days
Till the curtain falls
We know there’s one there because I’ve got one here
Inside my mind, we battle all the time
But that really is fine just please take the time
To lock him in a cage and cut off the line
That lassoes you to him, or her
Rid yourself of your biggest competitor
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