Active living and exercise are great. We all need to be active, most of us MORE active, and for the most part we all CAN be. But let’s just pause for a moment to consider a few important things before we get active…
- Are you over 40?
- Have you been inactive or sedentary for a year or more?
- Do you have a heart condition?
- Do you have other serious medical conditions you know of?
- Do you have back pain or neck pain?
- Do you have knee or hip pain when walking?
- Do you take medication every day?
- Does exercise worry you in any way?
If you answered yes to any of these questions you should really see your doctor before starting any exercise programme.
Even if you answered no to each question please at least think about seeing your doctor first. Please also remember to start slowly, build up very gradually, set realistic targets, and make sure you enjoy your active living (don’t make it so strenuous that you hate it).
A little common-sense goes a long way. DO get active but do so once you’re sure it’s safe.
From personal experience I think training my mind to get myself into an active habit was the most difficult. I would always find an excuse not to exercise, until I started thinking “outside the box”. During the week at work I have double timed step climbing from 1st Floor to 3th floor in the morning and back to 1st floor to my desk where I sit, getting my heart racing, blood pumping etc. At home I have a jump rope challenge of 30min with my son, with some up beat music. Weekends we enjoy a bit of soccer running weather permitting. These few actions have made me feel great again, I am more energized throughout the day, I can focus better and save a good penny from having to go to gym. My son also being very energetic is a great challenge and we have great fun. Now I don’t look back and encourage everybody, to make it as fun as possible so that you may never want to stop and make it interesting by changing routines. Enjoy and Live Life Lekker.
Thanks Zunaid, these creative approaches can be really helpful I think. Incorporating family-time is a great idea too and it’s a win-win because you’re helping your son establish an active-living habit.
I truly believe that ones journey is personal. I started my fitness journey purely because of an awakening. I am not 40 years old. I was young, very over weight and deeply unhappy. While the world saw a confident young lady, inside i was ashamed of what i looked like. I feared buying “lady like clothes” because it would never “look right”. Fast forward a few years, many successes, many failures, I have lost 33kgs.
I joined the gym initially to swim and cycle. That was all I could do. I also use to train very late at night so that nobody would see me. Fast forward a couple of years i now swim, run, cycle, train at gym and love being outdoors. My tips or motivation is as follows:
1. Decided to make a start
2. Start
3. Tell close friends and family: we all require a little support
4. Realize that this is not a phase or diet: we all about the lifestyle (I eat pizza:)
5. It will be hard: hard is not impossible
6. Your why must be a loud yes: to all the things life has to offer
7. Invest in yourself
8. It is ok to say no to things: food choices
9. Prayer: it helps. take yourself out of the way
10. Remember number 6: when you are hopeless, helpless and full of fear
Always remember your why. My why was to be healthier and a better version of myself. I lost weight in the process….BONUS:)
The journey continues.
Almost brings a (happy) tear to the eye. The truth is that overweight unfit folks are unhappy usually, often deeply unhappy. The story of late-night “hide from others” gym work is quite real and very emotional. Your transformation is clearly quite major. Well done to you and thanks for sharing this.(Thanks also for your “hard is not impossible” message: I often think this little phrase is very very important to us all.)
Thank you Dr Collins. I will do my best to influence as many of my colleagues as possible. 🙂
Forgive me, I meant to type Dr Colin instead. My apologies.
Hi I am a 22 year old male who just recently joined the Sanlam/Santam family. Honestly I have never really been big on exercise. Well funny enough, I have tried on several occasions to work out an exercise routine and down the line I ended up neglecting it or rather falling out of the routine. As much as age might play a significant role when it comes to exercising, I believe being young (as I am) should not be an excuse not to regularly exercise, because you feel you don’t necessarily need to as you are still young, strong and healthy. I believe that, if we start falling into the habit of regular exercise as young as possible, then we have a great chance of leading a long and healthy life. With that said, if you are not so young and you don’t really exercise, well it is never too late to start today. I needed a bit of motivation to go back to my routine and after reading this article, I am fully motivated and fully charged. Unfortunately I won’t be able to join the health walk in Cape Town, but hey I can always walk on my own this side right!. I might even pursued a few individuals to join me (…said in slight whisper). Well to end it off people, lets push ourselves to adopt the habit of exercising. You don’t need to push yourself too hard, just a little jog or that short walk will do. #Happy Healthy Living Beautiful People
I agree Cornelius: establishing a HABIT of exercise is the key and this applies to all ages. Good luck to you and I do hope you can bring along a few colleagues on your wellness journey.
Sanlam is giving me the opportunity to think about my Health and to get active sooner rather than later.
This sitting and doing nothing just gaining weight is something of the past,I always been active till I started working am a bit lazy now for sports but when u dance I put all effort so I now call my dancing my gym.
I always been active till I started working. After I struggled to find the motivation to go to the gym. I will go for maybe a month and stop for few months and this cycle went on for many years. However at the beginning of 2017, I tried again and I decided to try to group class at the gym instead of trying to do some exercises on my own. It really helped because I felt I was part of a team again as it is often the same people going to the same classes. It is also a way to make friends who share the same active lifestyle and you can share tricks on how to become even more healthy. Now it has been almost 1.5 years that I do a sport activity (gym, run, hike, yoga, swim, …) almost every day and I even struggle to take a rest day once a week. If I can share some advices when starting will be the following:
1) If you plan to go to gym after work, pack your bag and try not to go back home, it will be too hard to motivate yourself to go out of the house again.
2) Try to meet people at a specific time so you feel bad to cancel.
3) Join groups, there are plenty in Cape Town (especially running clubs) or start with the gym classes.
4) Don’t be afraid of the machines at the gym, just make sure you have the correct forms. You don’t need to book sessions with a personal trainer (PT). You can ask someone training at the gym or watch a video on youtube.
5) If you can afford a (PT), I will strongly suggest it for maybe 3-5 months, so you get the form right and also to show you all the muscles you need to exercises (there are a lot!!)
6) If you start running, please make sure to do strength sessions too as running will expose your weak muscles and you may have to stop for few months.
7) Enter sport events (e.g. Sanlam Marathon) with friends, so you have a due date and it will motivate you to get started.
8) Super important: don’t forget to warm up or do activation exercises and STRECH!!!
This is exactly the sort of thing we love seeing at Sanlam wellness: people who had become inactive and quite unwell, getting active and getting well. Good for you and thanks for sharing. By the way, I am sure many of us can see ourselves in your story of stop-start exercise.
It always looks impossible but once you start doing the exercise it gets better and easier. I always say start slowly and work your way up rather than overdoing it and start with what you enjoy if its swimming start there if its dancing there are those routines that will pace your heart rate up and eventually you can do more intense training once you have build up your strength and psychologically fit. Above all exercise does help a lot, it reduces stress and you feel awesome so why not start moving.
With our fast past life and ever changing technology , many of us have been diagnosed with some sort of chronic illness or just suffer from stress. I have always been an active person by nature as it keeps me fit and happy. I believe that being active is a way to relieve stress, keep the weight down and leave you feeling energized and happier. Being active becomes a way of life and gives one a different perspective, start small and it will soon it becomes part of you/life. I would say one day at a time with commitment and consistency makes a big difference and goes a long way!
at 53 years of age at this point and time i do not suffer from any form of chronic illnesses , i am firm believer of walking at least 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon, i always keep busy at home, a good spring cleaning allows my body to sweat out all of unwanted toxins, the good balance of mind and body is to keep busy, an idle mind becomes the devils playground which leads to stress and STRESS IN RETURN EFFECTS YOUR HEALTH ….walk it off….
I have always found it easier to stick to an exercise program when I combine it with a healthy eating plan. If adopting a healthy eating plan sounds daunting or too expensive, one could start by having “healthy days” in the week and increase these “healthy days” as your resources and will power increases.
When starting a new exercise programme, or starting to exercise for the first time remember to take it easy and not overdo it in the beginning. Rather go slow and work your way up to your desired level of fitness.
#SanlamBeWell encourages me to be more active particularly during winter season when it is very difficult to get out there for that usual run. It is vital to listen to your body and if experiencing any pain get it check by professional.
If you have lived a life of neglect and no exercise for more than a few years, remember that you cannot change all that within a day. And exercising for hours but doing the wrong thing, will not help either. Ask the experts. You may just get to exercise for ten to fifteen minutes a day, doing what is designed for YOU and see more results than spending hours doing strenuous exercises in vain. And remember: it does not help to be fit but killing your body slowly because you are eating wrong and harming your body more by not listening to it.
It’s so easy to be so goal driven that it turns a good thing into a bad thing so much that one never feels content with their progress. Thank you for the reminder to take is slow – in this fast world we live in it is rare to be reminded of such.
Even a little bit of exercise is better than nothing! Start slowly and build it up slowly until a point you feel comfortable. I`m almost 65 and I take the stairs every day, walk the Stride route twice a day and try to do at least 10 000 steps a day! I feel much better than before!
Brilliant Cecile. We always say that anyone, at any age, can and should get active. There maybe 1% of us who cannot exercise but for the rest we can and we should, and when we do, we feel great! I love hearing that the Stride route is working for you.
I love that Sanlam cares about its employees wellness in a constructive and positive way. I feel like I am able to grow not only in my career but also in my health education. The mind and body both need exercise and healthy nutrition for a productive lifestyle to exist.
Exercise is a mind-set. You need to get your mind right and the rest will follow. Keeping healthy and feeling good for YOU, starts with you. And don’t set your goals for other people, we are all different, so start small and end BIG! Exercise surely makes your self-esteem BOOM, and in doing so makes you feel comfortable in your skin. Have a can-do attitude
Having quite a hectic back issue plague me over the last few years and also following through with non-invasive surgery, I can without a doubt say that since I’ve started light exercise (walking and stretching) I’ve gained the most relief.
This has been better than any intensity of medication. If anything, since I’ve started gradually exercising, I’ve taken back my health and cut down on all forms of medication considerably.
I fall asleep easier and stay asleep – what a blessing! To add to this, the fact that I am losing weight is an absolute bonus!
Get going and feel the difference (”,)
What an interesting story Ayesha. Exercise and active living really can make a positive difference, sometimes in unexpected ways (like less back pain). We ALL need to be active.
Sanlam is giving me the opportunity to think about my Health and to get active sooner rather than later.
This sitting and doing nothing just gaining weight is something of the past.
Personally I question whether it is really necessary for any person to just get a little bit active to first see your doctor. We need people to get moving even in the smallest ways, and I feel this is placing another excuse for somebody not to start (we are introducing a BARRIER) – I don’t want to waist time, medical aid benefits or money on going for a checkup first.
Before you start – my suggestions:
1. your mindset must be to change your lifestyle forever – make the decision
2. know your numbers and get something you want to measure regularly – amount of steps, weight, time spent on activity, whatever works for you – you need to be able to see improvement
3. make a commitment on paper (even just for your own eyes) and keep it visible
4. get at least one “partner” who will join and encourage you (and likewise)
5. change everyday activities, like taking stairs (in stead of lifts or escalators), take furthest parking bay at mall and walk, get up from you chair to fetch things in stead of asking somebody else to hand you things, etc.
Thanks Ohna, I hear you and yes we do sometimes set up barriers that make an already-hard thing more difficult. But we really do have to offer responsible and above-all, SAFE, advice here and so we do offer the advice above, including considering a check up before exercising seriously. Those who feel fine could perhaps consider skipping this and just starting slowly at first, but a check up is the safest and best approach, as explained above.
I am over 40 and has a back problem which causes discomfort when I stand for long periods or walk too slow (of all things). I’ve adapted to always walking briskly since it somehow helps me not to get a back ache when I walk. After consulting my doctor, I acquired a DVD on Zumba and started by only doing the “easy steps” where they demonstrate how to do the movements. I initially started with 15 min at a time and eventually got to working through all the easy steps which amounts to about an hour at a time. Regardless of the fact that the movements are mostly slow, I manage to work up quite a sweat and eventually got up the courage to then also do a 10 min cardio workout on one of the options. If there’s any movements that I find too complicated or puts strain on my back, I simply adjust it to my own version to still make it fun. It helps if I do the Zumba with my daughter or a friend, since we laugh so much at each other that even our tummy muscles gets a work out. And they say that laughing is good for you, so that’s two benefits for the price of one.
I’ve since also started walking the 1Km stride route twice a week and am aiming to do it more regularly in preparation for Sanlam Cape Town marathon. Lots of people have an excuse that they don’t want to do the stride route at work because they don’t want to be sweaty at work – my advice here would then be to do it as close as possible to the end of the day. I bring with tekkies and a T-shirt and change before I do the walk. Once I’ve completed the walk, I wait until I’ve cooled down a bit after which I then transform back into my work clothes. I’ve already entered for the 10Km Sanlam fun run and are tracking my steps on the Sanlam Be Active site. This encourages me to stay active, because I feel guilty if I don’t walk enough steps per day.
It always seems not doable when you think of starting somewhere. Rome wasn’t build in a day and neither fitness. Set yourself reachable goals and look for support groups. That helps a lot. Start with walking for 30mins a day. You will see every day it will get easier and easier. You will see your distance would be further as it gets easier for the same amount of time. Two years ago I never would of thought doing a marathon would be possible but to date I have done two. I had great support and people motivating me to become active. It’s not always easier, being healthy is hard word but the rewards are even greater. Then the hard word seems like nothing at all. PS: Never set yourself up for failure. Baby steps with everything you do and surround yourself with positive people.
Inspiring: zero fitness to TWO marathons! Congratulations.