Another Look at Exercise and Work
Last time we focused on those of us who must exercise in order to work. We saw how practical considerations can make it necessary to build up our strength, endurance, flexibility, even our speed, in order to properly execute our appointed duties. Today we look at why all of us should exercise.
Let's first recall that a) we were created by God soul and body and b) our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Given this reality, while we may not have to perform any special physical exercises to go about our business each day, we really should give serious consideration to keeping ourselves healthy and fit. In order to keep our soul fit, we not only seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, be we also avoid the near occasions of sin. So it should be with our body. As any good doctor knows, first do no harm; also, build up our strength and endurance.
It really shouldn't require explanation, but in case you're not sure why we should be physically fit, just think about your own work. Wouldn't greater strength and endurance help you to do a better job? Those of us who work more with our bodies can perhaps more easily grasp this. But even those of us whose jobs find us sitting for long stretches, working more with mind than body, should understand this. Add to this the stress that accompanies both physical and mental labor, and I know you get the point. (And, yes, you can reduce stress by getting more physically fit!) The fact is, we will all do our jobs better when we're more physically fit. (If for some reason you're not convinced, experience and common sense should be screaming at you even as your read this. Listen!)
But before we go any further, let's acknowledge the simple, complimentary relationship that exists between diet and exercise. You can't really get fit only through physical exercise. Now, by "diet," we don't necessarily mean those fancy diets that promise that you'll lose 40 pounds in 2 days (or some such nonsense). Of course, some of us need to follow special diets because of some illness or physical condition we might have; that's between you and your doctor. But all of us need to be conscious of what we put into our mouths. Which is to say: besides getting exercise you've got to eat well too. For whatever reason, this simple relationship appears lost on some people. And it can prove quite frustrating to them when they work out - even work out vigorously - but can't seem to get the results they anticipated or desired. From personal experience, a lot of that disappointment can be explained by diet. If you don't eat well, you're going to find it difficult, if not impossible, to get reasonably fit.
As previously mentioned, I don't have any formal education or training in fields like exercise science or sports medicine or physical therapy. But if you read our last post, you saw that necessity compelled me to learn a thing or two about various types of exercise. In the course of that learning experience, I became more aware of the relationship of exercise and diet. But even if you haven't been forced to learn (as was I), as we already mentioned, common sense should tell you that diet and exercise function as the two essential wings of the bird of physical fitness. With that in mind, I'll again turn to my own experience to illustrate how this relationship between diet and exercise developed and functioned in my own life.
First of all, I've almost always eaten reasonably well. That's likely because my Mom cooked good, healthy stuff growing up. She wasn't a "health nut" or anything, but as Italian-Americans we had some grounding in good eating. Taste and quality worked seamlessly together. In our case - especially since we were relatively poor - Mom cooked mostly from scratch using fresh ingredients. These were usually cheaper than prepared foods, and in the hands of someone like Mom who knew how to cook they also tasted better. As opposed to some of my friends, I even liked my vegetables. In fact, I never understood why some of my friends didn't like vegetables, or how their Moms fed them a staple of prepared foods. (And this was before fast foods became readily available.) Prepared foods were the exception in our home.
Maybe you grew up eating a lot of prepared foods, or your Mom wasn't a great chef; or maybe your taste buds have been pummeled by eating lots of fast food. There's still hope for you. We're blessed to live in a country and in an age where good fresh food is readily available and not that expensive. And with the internet, Youtube, etc., it really doesn't take much effort to learn the basics of eating well. Heck companies like Blue Apron even deliver good fresh prepared meals, if you're convinced you don't have the time or talent to cook. (Of course, their stuff isn't cheap.)
The point of all this: If you know your body, how it reacts to various kinds of food, your diet will help you succeed at work. Eat what helps you have the energy and concentration to do a good job. For example, if I eat too many carbs at lunch, I become sleepy and dull. I'm not diabetic or anything, but if I'm carbed-up I can even get sweaty and dizzy sometimes. So I learned that protein and vegetables work best for me at lunch. Salad anyone?
Besides, better eating helps you not only work better, but you'll have something in reserve when your work is done so you're not just some zombie walking in the door to greet the family at the end of the day.
Got it?
Next time we'll dig a little deeper into how exercise trains us to do a great job.
Let's first recall that a) we were created by God soul and body and b) our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Given this reality, while we may not have to perform any special physical exercises to go about our business each day, we really should give serious consideration to keeping ourselves healthy and fit. In order to keep our soul fit, we not only seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, be we also avoid the near occasions of sin. So it should be with our body. As any good doctor knows, first do no harm; also, build up our strength and endurance.
It really shouldn't require explanation, but in case you're not sure why we should be physically fit, just think about your own work. Wouldn't greater strength and endurance help you to do a better job? Those of us who work more with our bodies can perhaps more easily grasp this. But even those of us whose jobs find us sitting for long stretches, working more with mind than body, should understand this. Add to this the stress that accompanies both physical and mental labor, and I know you get the point. (And, yes, you can reduce stress by getting more physically fit!) The fact is, we will all do our jobs better when we're more physically fit. (If for some reason you're not convinced, experience and common sense should be screaming at you even as your read this. Listen!)
But before we go any further, let's acknowledge the simple, complimentary relationship that exists between diet and exercise. You can't really get fit only through physical exercise. Now, by "diet," we don't necessarily mean those fancy diets that promise that you'll lose 40 pounds in 2 days (or some such nonsense). Of course, some of us need to follow special diets because of some illness or physical condition we might have; that's between you and your doctor. But all of us need to be conscious of what we put into our mouths. Which is to say: besides getting exercise you've got to eat well too. For whatever reason, this simple relationship appears lost on some people. And it can prove quite frustrating to them when they work out - even work out vigorously - but can't seem to get the results they anticipated or desired. From personal experience, a lot of that disappointment can be explained by diet. If you don't eat well, you're going to find it difficult, if not impossible, to get reasonably fit.
As previously mentioned, I don't have any formal education or training in fields like exercise science or sports medicine or physical therapy. But if you read our last post, you saw that necessity compelled me to learn a thing or two about various types of exercise. In the course of that learning experience, I became more aware of the relationship of exercise and diet. But even if you haven't been forced to learn (as was I), as we already mentioned, common sense should tell you that diet and exercise function as the two essential wings of the bird of physical fitness. With that in mind, I'll again turn to my own experience to illustrate how this relationship between diet and exercise developed and functioned in my own life.
First of all, I've almost always eaten reasonably well. That's likely because my Mom cooked good, healthy stuff growing up. She wasn't a "health nut" or anything, but as Italian-Americans we had some grounding in good eating. Taste and quality worked seamlessly together. In our case - especially since we were relatively poor - Mom cooked mostly from scratch using fresh ingredients. These were usually cheaper than prepared foods, and in the hands of someone like Mom who knew how to cook they also tasted better. As opposed to some of my friends, I even liked my vegetables. In fact, I never understood why some of my friends didn't like vegetables, or how their Moms fed them a staple of prepared foods. (And this was before fast foods became readily available.) Prepared foods were the exception in our home.
Maybe you grew up eating a lot of prepared foods, or your Mom wasn't a great chef; or maybe your taste buds have been pummeled by eating lots of fast food. There's still hope for you. We're blessed to live in a country and in an age where good fresh food is readily available and not that expensive. And with the internet, Youtube, etc., it really doesn't take much effort to learn the basics of eating well. Heck companies like Blue Apron even deliver good fresh prepared meals, if you're convinced you don't have the time or talent to cook. (Of course, their stuff isn't cheap.)
The point of all this: If you know your body, how it reacts to various kinds of food, your diet will help you succeed at work. Eat what helps you have the energy and concentration to do a good job. For example, if I eat too many carbs at lunch, I become sleepy and dull. I'm not diabetic or anything, but if I'm carbed-up I can even get sweaty and dizzy sometimes. So I learned that protein and vegetables work best for me at lunch. Salad anyone?
Besides, better eating helps you not only work better, but you'll have something in reserve when your work is done so you're not just some zombie walking in the door to greet the family at the end of the day.
Got it?
Next time we'll dig a little deeper into how exercise trains us to do a great job.
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