San Diego Nutrition and Health

For some people the word “exercise” brings up all sorts of negative connotations…boring, hard, not enough time, don’t like going to the gym, something I have to do, but really don’t want to, and so on.  While listening to a presentation a few weeks ago, the presenter, a health counselor, said he likes to call exercise “healthy movement.”  Now you may be thinking,  “Wait a minute, exercise, healthy movement, they’re both the same.”  Technically that may be true, but in the realm of connotations, I think the doors open much wider and are more positive with healthy movement than with exercise. 

With “exercise,” one may think he has to put on exercise clothes, go outside and run 3 miles without considering there are so many other ways to get the benefits from exercise.  This is where healthy movement comes in.  Yes, in moving healthy you can put on exercise clothes and go run 3 miles, but you can also put on dancing shoes and go ballroom or swing dancing, you can get in your row boat and explore a new section of a lake, you can put on your hiking boots and see what’s on top of the hill behind your house, you can grab your rake and your shovel and spending time cleaning your yard and garden, or you can skip the golf cart and walk the course.  Obviously the list could go on and on. 

The idea being that ”exercise” doesn’t have to put a set aside time of day when you are supposed to sweat.  Granted, it can be and there is nothing wrong with that.  But if you are not a fan of traditional exercise, the good news is that there are so many ways you can enjoy the health benefits of exercise by including healthy movement into your day.  All the better when you are getting healthy movement benefits and doing an activity you love.   

I invite you to enjoy a few minutes of healthy movement today and see how you feel!