RR Corner: from sombre to humour: Are You Overlooking Exercise?

By Ritesh(R) Chugh and Ripan(R) Sethi

It is common knowledge that exercise is an important part of being fit and healthy, but many people still overlook the role exercise should play in their day-to-day lives. Whether it’s a quick morning walk or an evening hour at the gym, everyone should be incorporating exercise into their lives in one way or another. RR are trying!

Why is it important?

Most of us today work sedentary jobs. Whether that entails sitting at a desk most of the day or driving around, we simply aren’t as active as we used to be. Worse yet, work is often so mentally draining and exhausting that, when we come home, we’d prefer to laze out on the couch rather than getting outside and enjoying the last few minutes of sunlight before we call it a night.

Although some of us are inherently more active than others, exercise is crucial to everyone’s health and wellbeing. Without it, your muscles will quickly deteriorate and you’ll find yourself actually feeling less energized. The lower you set the bar for activity each day, the less energy you’re going to have–yet the more difficult you’ll find it to lose weight, sleep well, and be in a good mood.

Exercising more

While many people do enjoy killing it at the gym a few times a week, a gym membership is in no way a requirement for living an active and healthy lifestyle. In fact, you can get in all the exercise you need just by making a few simple changes to your daily routine.

If you live near your place of work, walking or biking in rather than driving can make a huge difference. If that’s not an option, simple changes like taking the stairs, parking farther away from the entrance, and using your breaks to get up and move around will help you effortlessly incorporate more activity into your lifestyle.

In addition, you should also begin moving more. Going for a walk or bike ride before or after work is one way to do it, but you can also go for a swim, a hike, or start some other activity in your free time. Melbourne has lots of activities you can try out, whether you decide to take up horse riding lessons or even join the local indoor cricket team.

Of course, if you have a tight schedule–or you just really don’t want to miss your favourite TV shows–it’s important that you find a way to get more active in a way that’s going to fit your lifestyle and not cause you to miss out on the things you need or want to do. Something simple like doing yoga, pilates, walking on a treadmill or stand-still cardio while watching TV can make all the difference to your mood, sleep, and health.

So, rather than spending your evenings like a zombie on the couch, find ways to get yourself moving more without having to put in too much thought or planning. Who knows, you might actually come to enjoy it! RR are!