Pain and Exercise

In light of all the research regarding how exercise can increase your life quality and expectancy, how painful is it really?

There are multiple reasons to exercise and eat well. Recent studies link a fatty diet with onset of Alzheimer’s, and it’s long been known that exercise slows the progress of the disease. There has been a study linking almost every kind of fruit or vegetable and a reduction risk of cancer, particularly cancer in the digestive tract. Good nutrition has been shown to reduce childhood behavioural problems and allergies, as well as help treat depression in adults. Exercise has also been shown to increase cognitive function and longevity by increasing the complexity of the folds in the brain and maintaining vital muscle and bone mass … can anyone really afford NOT to be fit and healthy??

The latest “pain” in regards to exercise is financial. In the lee of the Global Financial Crisis, we are feeling insecure about our financial futures. However, have any of us sat down and worked out how much we spend on lunch every day? Coffee? Petrol? Clothes?

How does your one 30min session each week compare to that?

All these reasons to exercise, and yet we’re still the fattest nation in the world (52% of us are overweight or obese, and yes, we‘ve overtaken the Americans). The main explanation appears to be that the pain and discomfort of physical exercise - feeling self conscious, spending money, making time, muscle pain, breathlessness - outweighs the discomfort of your current state and the “might happen“ possibilities of the future.

The list of excuses not to exercise is as endless as the reasons to do it!

So how painful is exercise really? Is it more to do with our attitude? Is the problem just our assumptions of what’s expected and what you need to do to “get fit?” What if we simply changed our minds about exercise, and approached it like eating, breathing, and sleeping?


Exercise does not have to be painful. It just needs to be moderate, regular, and consistent.

Start with two small changes, and begin the evolution of your lifestyle: 

EAT MORE:
- fruit
- vegetables
- whole grains
- fish
- nuts and seeds (especially flaxseeds)
- probiotics (like yoghurt or Inner Health Plus)

Concentrate on consuming more good stuff rather than cutting anything out. Even if you continue to be overweight and inactive, you will improve your internal health and reduce your risk of disease. You will also slow down the aging and weight gain process.

MOVE MORE:
- take the stairs.
- park the car further away.
- start walking regularly (start with just 10min a day everyday)
- make it social (catch up with friends in the park instead of the bar)
- make the organised exercise you do worth it! Eg. Competitive sport, 30min effective PT session instead of 60min fluffing about in a park. Most places will give you a visit for free, so try everything!

You can chose how you do it, where you do it, what state you do it in, but you do it regardless! Start with walking or whatever you enjoy. Even if you do not lose weight you will increase your fitness and decrease the various health risks associated with inactivity.

At the end of the day, many diseases are preventable. It is not fair to burden our health system with preventable diseases when the resources can go towards those who really need it… just to avoid a bit of discomfort! The burden on our health system costs you in the hip pocket as well as reducing your life expectancy and quality of life. In light of the collective consequences of inactivity and eating badly, exercise and health is not that painful or inconvenient.

For assistance in getting started contact Galileo Personal Training:

a. 18 West St, Brookvale

p. 9905 4144

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galileopt@unwired.com.au www.galileopt.com.au