Extremes are easy

This article about healthful levels of exercise will confuse and upset people. No one likes to be told not to do too much of something they deem "good." The idea that 15 minutes a day is not only enough but healthier than an hour a day will make some people apoplectic. We LIKE feeling bad about doing too little. We expect to feel bad unless we're doing more, and good enough can never be reached.

What if the quest for perfection and virtue is in just doing some? Nah, that'll never sell.



Comments

  1. I love working out. It is been really helpful in recovery. When I trained for the marathon, 5 years ago, I was at one of my healthiest times. I ate to run, not run to eat. I was logging 60-70km a week, and biking another 100km or so. I loved it. I would take breaks when I felt it, I loved Mondays after a long-run when I got to relax as much as I loved Sunday mornings after a long-run.

    I was way more obsessed with exercise when I first got sick, even though I only ran 5-6km a few times a week. But, days I didn't work out, I'd freak out, panic, and have major anxiety.

    I don't exercise to be healthy or look a certain way. I just find long-distance running and biking to be one of the best things I can do for myself to relax, to calm down, to enjoy nature, to spend time alone.

    For me, training for a race meant gaining weight, muscle and fat. I lose weight when I stop (and often stopped for that reason..)

    In any case, too much exercise is when someone isn't listening to their body, can't take a day off, puts exercise above everything else, and so on.

    Too much is more psychological and physical (except injury-wise), in my books.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts