Unexpected lifelong benefits of exercise
May 17, 2019
“What if the rest of your life was the best of your life?” — Kobi Yamada
I’ve been consistent most of my life with regular exercises. Pre-Multiple Sclerosis, I enjoyed most aerobics, downhill skiing, slalom water skiing, and some running. My motivation was that I wanted to eat whatever food that looked good to my eyes.
My motivation Post M.S. is very different. In the early stages of the disease, I didn’t have all the assistive devices (cane, walker, wheelchair) that I currently have in my M.S. toolkit. So, when my walking ability was impacted, my strong daughter would carry me around the house on her back. Walking to the end of my driveway (about 50 yards), to take out the trash, was impossible. Standing over the kitchen stove for longer than 10 seconds wasn’t possible.
Now, I exercise to David Crowder’s song “Keep me” (https://open.spotify.com/track/2beH6vPbRYzlG0vtQq5KiZ?si=krkgnoRUSem7k7GN9T0lqg) when I’m regularly walking or climbing stairs (currently up to 15 flights). The song has a repeating line “Lord keep me walking…” My motivation is to proactively assist my body with M.S. I want to walk as long as possible. Our bodies are designed to move. Our bodies want to move. Research studies show the impact exercise can have on your future life. Even if you’ve had years of inactivity, people between ages 40-60 lowered their risk of mortality by 32-35%. (AARP May 2019). The study proves that it’s never too late to reap the benefits of exercise.
I didn’t start out exercising where I’m currently at today. I could have never done, even two years ago, the exercises I’m doing today. I started where I was at and gave myself incremental goals. I started being able to walk one lap (400 meters) at the high school track. I’d add to my goal by adding one more lap each week. Now, I’m at a level that I’m comfortable maintaining. I daily experience God’s amazing gift to me—a body that loves walking to the end of the driveway and a body that’s now able to cook standing at my stove. Just yesterday I walked 5 miles over the course of the day. My sister and my bonus daughter, Jennifer, and I went on a nice trail walk. I probably couldn’t have done it by myself, since there were exposed tree roots most of the walk. My poor balance would have landed me on my arsenic. I had my arm looped around Jill’s to prevent me from falling from an exposed root. A great reminder that all of us need each other to accomplish our goals.
So, how about you? Maybe you need to start putting your health into regular exercise. If you can give me a litany of reasons why you can’t take care of yourself by exercising, I implore you to begin by establishing an accountability friend.
When setting out on a new goal:
1. Figure out your WHY— post it on your bathroom mirror.
2. Get an accountability partner— friend, spouse, just someone who knows your “why” and goal: ask them to be your accountability partner.
3. Give yourself a win each day.
The success rate for people accomplishing their goal designed in this manner is between 92-95%. Staggering statistics. Staggering and personally convicting. So, start living your encouraged life by regularly exercising. Spend time this week establishing an accountability partner, if you know how you are wired and need that support. Then, set your goal with them to spend twenty minutes walking this week. Start there and then double that goal for next week. Your future self, kids, and grandkids will thank you. ❤️lynn
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