Wellness - Sport and Exercise

One of the first things that springs to most people’s minds when they think about WELLNESS is sport and exercise.

How many of you have made it your new year’s resolution to up the ante on the exercise front or take on a new sport and exercise plan all together? And how many of you have actually stuck to it?

Those of you who have followed life coaching plans with me will know that I am not a great believer in New Year’s resolutions – they simply don’t work. However exercise and sport as part of your regular life plan does and it brings with it a whole host of positives that will enhance your general WELLBEING.

So why should you bother to get out there and do something or take up a new sport and what should it be?

What you do and where you do it is purely a matter of personal choice. Any form of exercise (especially one that takes you outside) will be good for the heart, body and soul.

However if you have a specific goal in mind such as losing weight or running your first marathon there are some precautions that you should take to avoid doing yourself more harm than good. Whereas having a regular stroll by the sea is undoubtedly beneficial to everyone and may not require any particular form of preparation, taking on a new challenge that the body and mind have never had to cope with before at a level that is making more than average demands on the body, requires the assistance of a professional. So please ladies before you rush out and start training or drastically challenging your current eating habits, consult someone who can make sure that your new activity increases your WELLness and doesn’t end in injury, sickness and ultimately sadness.

Once you have enlisted help to get yourself on track there is no greater feeling that the one that comes from doing some form of physical activity. Not only will it help boost your fitness level but it comes with a host of other ‘wellness ‘ add-ons, such as mood enhancement, boosting your immune system, increased muscle strength, fat loss and increased productivity at work. What isn’t there to like?

So why is it so tough for many of us to start and then to keep going? Why do we give up? To really reap the wellness advantages this has to become part of your daily routine? Therefore firstly it’s important to do something you enjoy. Don’t take up snowboarding just because your friends are egging you on if you don’t enjoy it. On the other hand if you love the outdoors and the mountains but don’t fancy jogging, one the greatest sports for all round fitness and wellbeing is mountain walking. We are spoilt for choice in this area and it is a great opportunity to reconnect with nature, walk alone or in company and include your children if you have them. Walking is a low cost high benefit activity.

Once you have found what you enjoy doing, plan carefully where and when you are going to do it and how you are going to fit it into your routine. It’s no good hitting the gym five times one week and then once or not at all the next week. You won’t be able to sustain it and your enthusiasm will wane, as you won’t see any improvement. The mere stress of ‘stressing out’ about not going will put at end to that adventure! Plan shorter evenly spaced bouts of physical activity opting for a short swim/walk/jog or mini session at the gym rather than nothing at all. You can even be creative at home using walls, staircases and chairs to carry out mini home circuit training and be sure to include stretching, one of the greatest ways of warding off injury, reducing stress levels and increasing blood circulation. For those who want to take this a step further why not have a word with Anette Shine and consider taking yoga classes? By keeping to a realistic, manageable routine, you will maintain all the positive effects of exercise without putting pressure on yourself to carry out an Olympic training programme each time.

One of the greatest Wellness benefits from sport and exercise is that it is a powerful stress buster. If you are going through a tough time at work, a divorce or any other high stress event, your immune system is like to be highly compromised and you will be more prone to infection. Chronic stress produces a stress hormone called cortisol that kills or neutralises your immune cells. A good personal trainer will give you a bio signature analysis which will reveal just how much cortisol is in your system. Rather than reaching for the bottle or another sugary snack to wind down, exercise will help, as it reduces the levels of stress hormones. In fact not only that but during high intensity exercise the body produces its own stress-relieving hormone know as endorphins which some people call the ‘runner’s high’. Getting up on your feet will boost your immunity. Doctors say that improving your circulation will give your immune cells a better chance of being where they need to be. They say that when your heart beats more, your immune cells that patrol for problems move around more. When you exercise you keep them out looking for potential problems rather than sitting around waiting for problems to happen. So regular light exercise will help you to avoid getting ill and will generally make you feel better all round and more able to cope with whatever life throws at you. Other benefits from increased circulation are fresher, younger looking skin, appetite control and improved sleep.

All these factors combined make a pretty good argument for getting out there and making sport and exercise part of your Wellness for life programme, yes exercise should be for life not just for new year.

Above all enjoy yourselves while doing it!

If you would like to contact Judy Churchill about coaching sessions she can be reached on judy.churchill@orange.fr, her website: www.judychurchill.com or via PM on her Facebook page: Eloquence Languages and Translations.