It’s getting cold here in NYC, so cold I had a fleeting thought that Al Gore might be wrong about this whole climate change business, which makes me doubt other so called scientific facts such as time travel, cold fusion, and that gravity nonsense. But let’s not get caught up in myths. Let’s instead talk about excuses, because like armpits everyone has one and they all stink. Such as “it’s too cold to go out”, and “I don’t have time to exercise”. To quote a well coiffed reality show host/presidential candidate/helping hands: “wrong”.
We’ve gotten to know each other a bit in the hallowed halls of this most cherished and sacred blog, and so many of you know that I run for exercise and to clear my scrambled head. That works for me, and some of you may bike, or swim, or go to the gym to spin, Zumba, pump iron or whatever it is that people do in those sweaty boxes of corrugated steel and smoothies. Those of you who aren't doing anything, however, may want to consider the exercise that’s probably the easiest, most beneficial and most available. It’s been consistently shown in multiple published studies that walking has myriad benefits in preventing, or mitigating the effects of, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and depression just to name a few maladies with which we in NYC and the US and A are familiar. And it doesn’t take much- 2 miles or thirty minutes of somewhat vigorous exercise most days of the week confers said benefits. That means lunch break, after dinner or walking to and from work. And there is always the choice of the stairs over the elevator or escalator- my ADD brain can’t stand the wait for mechanized floor transports anyway. Can’t keep track of the time or distance? Good excuse to get one of the gazillion health trackers or smart watches on the market. And as long as you are not the very last American to be deprived of the cutting edge technology known as the smart phone, you already have a powerful tracking device in your pocket or on your belt.
So it’s foliage time and a good time to get out and walk. Tell your boss to take this lunch break and shove it, get your sneakers with custom orthotics, of course, and take a hike through the mean streets of NYC, or wherever you may be. The life you save may be your own.
See you in the office.
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