Exercise for Health

As a young girl I did not enjoy exercise in school or at home. In fact, during school I would dread gym class. I was not in great shape and I was teased by many of my classmates. However, with my health issues, it was imperative that I start to get some exercise as a way to control my Diabetes.

There is an old saying, “You have to walk before you run, and you have to learn how to crawl before you can walk”. I guess the moral of that saying is don’t try to do more than you are capable of doing. In my case in terms of exercise, I could barely even crawl. But I was determined to work through my lack of fitness and get healthier.

So, the first step was to crawl or at least getting out and walking. At first it was just short walks to the end of the block and back. That was all I could do without getting out of breath. But with improving my diet and continuing to do some easy stretching exercises I started to improve my fitness. Before you knew it I was able to take longer walks without being out of breath. I was even able to take the dog for a walk, and she wanted to stop before I did!

The biggest misconception when people talk about exercise is that people have to jump right into the gym and run on the treadmill, use the elliptical or lift heavy weights. But you don’t need to do that. To start just do what you are comfortable doing. If it is walking, just start out with a block or two. If it is running, do some light jogging for a half mile. Which ever you choose, start small and build up from there.

In my case, I started with walking for several months. The next step was light jogging and kept increasing my distance gradually. My goal was to get to a point where I could run a mile effortlessly. I then increased my goal to two miles, and then three miles. To celebrate my achievement, at the age of 30 I ran in my first 5K race. The smile on my face as I crossed the finish line was a genuine as anything.

Moderate and focused exercise can be a big factor in getting healthy and maintaining your health. All it takes is the first step!