Resolution: Lift, run and swim each at least 3 times a week.
Exercise has always been a top priority for me. I have been a competitive swimmer throughout my life and am continuing this passion as a part of the club swim team here at penn state. I am also an ocean lifeguard in the summer, where I am forced to workout and stay in both running and swimming shape. Lastly, within the past few years, I have started lifting and really enjoy it. I created this resolution to help me balance all of my fitness priorities, as I struggled with getting in a balance of running, swimming, and lifting each week last year. I was easily swimming 4-5 times a week and lifting 3-4 times a week, but did not stay in running shape throughout the year, which really hurt me in the summer. In this post, I will describe some of the benefits of exercise and give tips on how to follow through with exercise goals.
There are plenty of both immediate and long-term benefits of exercising. One immediate benefit is that it improves sleep quality and lessens the time it takes you to fall asleep. Another immediate benefit is that it reduces feelings of anxiety and depression, and improves overall mood by releasing endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers). Exercise can also improve your thinking, learning, and judgment and keep these things sharp as you age. One long-term benefit is that exercise improves brain health, reducing the risk of developing dementia and future depression. It also improves heart health, and lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Exercise also lowers the risk of eight different cancers including bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach. In addition, it keeps your body at a healthy weight and reduces the risk of weight gain. Exercise improves your bone and muscle strength and health as well. Lastly, your balance and coordination are improved, which reduces your risk of falling when you get older.
Like all of the other resolutions I have shared so far, it is important that your fitness goals are measurable and reasonable. It is not a bad thing to start off with a small goal, such as just making it to the gym twice a week, or just doing 20 push-ups when you wake
up in the morning. Create a fitness goal that aligns with your other
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priorities in life. If you are someone who is super busy with clubs, homework, or social events, then be sure to factor these other priorities in when making your goal. As someone who has many other priorities in addition to fitness, creating time for exercise can sometimes be a challenge, especially during a super busy week. One thing that I have started doing more this year is changing up the time of day I workout. Usually, I like to exercise in the afternoon/evening, but recently, I have been busy during that time and have been exercising earlier instead.
To me, exercise is a very rewarding and beneficial aspect of life, and everybody can create goals to improve their fitness.
Thanks for all of the information in your post and it is really cool to hear that you were an ocean lifeguard. I have a friend who also lifeguarded at a beach during the summer and I heard that is a very involving job. Anyway, I really agree with the second half of your blog about creating time. Everybody should make time for things that are important like exercise and I like how you brought in SMART goals in as well!
I totally agree! I used to do track and cross country in high school, so I was running six days a week throughout the year. It was a really rewarding feeling and I felt my best then because it was a great way to reduce endorphins. Unfortunately I have not been running as much in college, but I have started going to the gym here and learning how to use all of the equipment. I definitely want to get back into running though!