Fitness and Overall Health – Rogue’s 31 Days To Readiness [Day 23]

You don’t have to be a body builder or marathon runner in order to be ‘in shape’. There are very simple, effective and easy ways for us to stay active and try to eat a little healthier.

TV shows, movies, magazines, social media; they all give us an unhealthy image of what everyone is supposed to look like. How we’re supposed to eat. What types of exercises we’re supposed to be doing for optimal health.

The fact is, there are some really basic, easy ways for us to maintain our health and fitness without all the fancy-ness that the health industry would make you believe. There are baselines you want to reach for, but other than that, as long as you’re remaining active and eating (fairly) healthy, you’ll be alright.

Here’s how preppers can improve their health and fitness:

• Fit exercise into your everyday life – The gym has never been a viable option for me. For some, the gym is the only option as it makes them feel more accountable. Not only are they paying money, but they have to actually get up and go out somewhere to do the exercising. However, I’ve never been able to make that work for me. I don’t need a gym and honestly, anyone can get by without a gym. Jog in place while you watch TV. Do some yoga with your kids. Stretch and do some lunges while you cook. Run around your home with your bug out bag on your back. Lift those gallon jugs of water as weights. Make it work right there at home! You could also just take a stroll around the park. The point is to make activity part of your everyday life, throughout your entire day. Fit it in every once and a while, whenever you have a spare moment.
• Give yourself goals – Are you a goal oriented person? I certainly am. I give myself goals. For instance, I’ll say, “I want to do 5 pushups everyday”. Then I’ll put a reminder in my phone to do those 5 pushups everyday. I strive for goals as well as reminders.
• Give yourself a break – Speaking of goals, some days I don’t get to it. And you know what? I don’t even care. Cause some days are insanity and I’ll get to the pushups tomorrow. It’s ok! While I care about my goals, I know that it’s not the end of the world. We also have to prioritize. If one day gives you grief, then give yourself a break and try again tomorrow.
• Everything in moderation – I like bread. No, that’s not right. I LOVE bread. If I had no self-control, I’d probably just eat bread all day, everyday, hah. But, obviously, that’s not healthy so I throw an egg on the bread and am conscious of how much bread I’m consuming. It’s not like a bad habit that I can’t control, I just love bread. Anyway, the point is, everything is good in moderation. Too much of anything is a bad thing. This includes “healthy” food. Too many nutrients can actually have a negative effect on our bodies. It’s all about finding that balance.
• Take some vitamins – Speaking of nutrients, consider taking some vitamins in case you feel you’re lacking. We should be getting most of our nutrients from the foods we eat, but sometimes our diets don’t accommodate that for any number of reasons. A basic multi-vitamin usually helps to pick up the slack.
• Get the family or friend(s) involved – We’re usually a lot more motivated when we have a support group, that could be a family member or friend. I used to head to my friends house after work for a couple months as we trained for a 5K and then a 10K. We not only had the goal of the 5K, but we also had each other to push one another. Even if it’s long distance, maybe you could compare your exercises? Maybe you could bet on each other? How about talking to each other on the phone while you each exercise? Listen to the same mix-tape? Exercise at the same time? Have a surprise for the other when they reach a goal? Lots of ways we can encourage and motivate each other. In general, I know that I’m always more motivated to get out with my kids and dogs. If no children, maybe you have a niece or nephew that you can go for a walk in the park with?
• Think about exercising differently – As stated in the first point about fitting exercise into your everyday life, we also have to think about exercising differently and make it enjoyable. I really hate jogging. I want to like it, but I hate it. What do I like instead? Hiking. I’ll throw my baby into a carrier, put a water bladder onto my 4 year old and off we go for a walk/hike. It’s easy and enjoyable. This could be done just once a week. You could also get out to a local park. Maybe you enjoy swimming? Swimming is fantastic exercise. How about gardening? That’ll work up a sweat real quick! Do you enjoy bike riding? Get on that bike and ride! There are so many ways for us to exercise, find something that you enjoy.

I’ll be going into depth about mental health in another blog post, but for now let’s take a close look at how we can improve our physical wellness. Again, you don’t have to be some amazingly built terminator machine in order to be considered ‘healthy’. It’s all about getting active and everything in moderation.

We can all do our best to be a little healthier. But also, don’t forget to treat yourself every now and then, too.

See you in day 24!