Time - Your Best Fitness Tool - Use It Well:

It’s that time of the year again when the hands of the clock will converge on the midnight mark to usher in another New Year that is celebrated with joy, festivity and revelry worlwide.

But then, when we take a moment to think about it, we get humble for it is also an acute reminder of the passing of time.

Time passes on, we should remember that and treat our time like the precious ever-shrinking gift that it is.

But most importantly, we should live in order to hopefully increase the amount of time we have – our longevity and quality of life.

This means eating healthy, exercising, getting quality rest, nourishing a healthy, active mind and saying no to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and negative attitudes of hate, anger, intolerance.

But, many of us, tragically, undervalue our health and fail to make it a priority of our life - at least, until we are on the verge of losing it.

The most frequent excuse we use for not making positive health choices is lack of time.

Remember, everyone has the same amount of time. If you are constantly running out of time, it isn’t the lack of time, but your use of time that is the problem.

Essentially, making health a priority is an issue of time management. It involves putting your health, fitness & wellness related practices into your schedule first, than allowing the less important matters to fit amount them.

The only way we can address the problem of time, the only way can give meaning to our own fitness lifestyles and genuinely increase participation, is by removing the structures that are alienating us from exercise participation and by putting in fitness- friendly structures in their place.

First and foremost make up your mind to pursue fitness wholeheartedly. It is critical that you decide that your long-term health is an important compound in your life.

Understand that your health is not a given right but something of value, and something that you must respect.

Remember no rewards come easy. If you want to enjoy the benefits of a health and fit lifestyle-less body fat, greater energy, flexible/ stranger muscle, improved self-esteem and reduced risk of illness and injury then you need to reorganize your priorities.

Plan you time efficiently. Treat yourself with respect and consideration and get into the habit of regular exercise.

Keep you workout appointment before your do anything else.

Set priorities and say no to things you cannot comfortably accomplish in the time you have allotted. And turn you back on those interruptions that would lure you away from your health & fitness goals.

Follow simple strategies, like placing work, family and personal commitments in a diary. It is important that you are selfish with your time away from work.

Don’t look in the diary and see your exercise time as another opportunity to fit in that meeting, shopping or party that you’ve been trying to squeeze in for weeks.

I know, that’s easier said then done, but if there is something I’m sure of, it’s this - you have to stand up for yourself. If you don’t respect your rights and priorities, no one else will

So cheers to living with enthusiasm, being humble and training your mind and muscle to be strong throughout the passing of time. Because when you think about it, we may be powerless over the calendar and the clock yet with healthy living we can enjoy a more vital, energetic present and an extended, active future.

I also take this opportunity to wish you all the very best of health and happiness in 2023 and will serve as a gateway to the spectacular life you all truly deserve.

Further over the following weeks I will be posting articles on how to implement and maintain behavior change strategies that I had previously penned and have been published in local newspapers in India. These articles are based on the knowledge that I had gained thru my education in the field of exercise science from University of Ballarat/Federation University Australia and Health Psychology from Madras School of Social Work/University of Madras, India.