In high school, coach Brown gave me the nickname "happy" because "I didn't make hits I was just happy to be there". He was right. I'd show up for practice and go through the motions but the hunger to train so that I could actually make a difference on the team wasn't there.
My lack of physical activity was a combination of laziness and a lack of interest. I had accepted the fact that I was not “born an athlete” and that being the fastest, strongest, or best shot would take much more hard work and effort than my other interests.
In my 20’s I was walking 10,000+ steps a day at as a server and restaurant manager so there wasn’t much moving I wanted to do beyond that. Then that shrank to around 2,000-ish steps a day sitting at a desk working as a sales/marketing professional for various places. It was then that I started to experience sciatic pain and feel stress compounding week over week.
Then I started running. I had no exercise routine at the time and barely any knowledge of sports so I decided on a simple metric: Sweat. No distance, no time, just sweat.
Swat determined the win. Sweating became something to celebrate, and that was the unlock to start learning more about running and exercise in general. My sciatic pain went away. The stress I stored in my body had found a way out and my mind became more clear.
Now I know that science confirms my own experience.
As psychiatrist John Ratey, MD, author of the book Spark has said:
"Exercise does the same kind of thing that many of our medicines do. A bout of exercise is like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin”.
I’m still not the fastest, strongest, or most accurate shot. But a podium finish or model body isn’t what matters. What matters more to me now is that I’m doing things that make me a faster, stronger, more accurate thinker.
Many exercise goals are tied to weight loss, which is healthy and admirable. But I’ve experienced that exercise is less of a daunting task when tied to an immediate benefit like more energy and elimination of stress.
Michelle Segar, author of “No Sweat” echoes this point. She talks about having the ‘right why’ when it comes to exercise. As a researcher who focuses on helping people improve their engagement in healthy behaviors, she says most people want to exercise for abstract, clinical reasons (lose weight) rather than concrete reasons (more energy/less stress NOW). In fact, she found that the ‘abstract’ group exercised 30% LESS than the concrete group in her studies.
So don’t just take my word for it. Sweat more often. Explore the mind-body connection. Use sweat as a well-being tool, not just a weight-loss tool.
Discover the natural ways we can alter our mood and mindset through physical activity. Start small and experience how the benefits compound.
Read yesterday’s post, 7. Commitment.