subject: How Are You Doing With Your Health - Are You Happy With It? [print this page] How Are You Doing With Your Health - Are You Happy With It?
Even with all the billions of dollars spent each year on medical research, all the doctors, tests, drugs and surgeries many people's health is still spiraling downward and the chance of having a shortened life increases. You would think we would all be in the peak of good health and certainly two thirds of us would not be overweight like we are now.Many of us are aging at a premature and accelerated rate because of our no exercise lifestyles and the poor quality of the food we eat and seem to be not really aware this is happening or simply do not care so we do little or nothing to stop it. Losing the will and energy to take control of our health and turn it around is part of this downward spiral.We can make this a little more personal and take it one step further and say look in the mirror and assess your own health. How do you look? How do you feel? Are you happy with your body and its health or could you be carrying too much weight and have too little energy and 'get up and go'?Consider what physical ailments you have or do you think you are living your ideal life and are happy with your health and body. The last thing we need to have is our life compromised because our body or health is compromised.We have been told over the years that it is natural to experience declines in our strength, fitness and to accept increases in our weight as we get older. But now we know that we should not automatically enter into a downward spiral of degeneration as the years pass and there is a lot we can do to keep looking and feeling youthful regardless of our age.The most important health goal we should be striving for is to increase not only the length of our life but the quality of that life. A proper exercise program that contains mostly strength training exercise is a major contributor to that goal. Our body strength is absolutely crucial to aging successfully. Without proper exercise we lose around one half pound of precious muscle tissue each year and this rate doubles after age fifty.Many people do not believe we have a choice about how we grow older. But we do and can either surrender to the downward spiral that leads to an increased risk of disease and frailty or, we can take control, and embark on a program that will protect our strength. We can become stronger, more energetic and more youthful. But this does not happen on its own; we do have to take action, get our proper exercise program in place and put some effort into it. But the good news is we do not need much of it as strength training exercise is so effective that just 2-3 sessions each week are needed.Some of the multitude of other health benefits include reducing stress and anxiety, helping you sleep better, brightening your mood, sharpening your mental functioning, keeping blood sugar levels more consistent, a strengthened immune system and making you look and feel fantastic regardless of your age. It is not a good idea to live your life now without a care and risk that doctors, surgery or drugs will be needed somewhere down the track if the wheels fall off. Think of your strength training program as the only fitness medicine you will ever need to increase the odds you will have a health span that matches your long life span.
