Fitness and sports are indispensable

It is the lowest-cost health "moat" for ordinary people. It is the only self-improvement path that can simultaneously affect physiological functions, emotional regulation, and cognitive abilities.

Speaking of which, I used to be a person who "can lie down but never sit down". I worked as a content operator for an Internet company last year. I was working on the 996 project for three consecutive months. It took me half a day to even go downstairs to pick up a courier. Later, the physical examination report showed 7 abnormalities. The doctor knocked on the table and told me that if I stayed up all night and sat for too long every day, the thyroid nodules might one day turn malignant. How bad was your condition during that period? I can't sleep after lying in bed for two hours at night, and my attention drifts away after half an hour in a meeting. I miss the key points of half a page when taking notes. I can't even get excited about eating with friends. Later, I was really forced to do nothing. I got off the subway two stops before get off work and walked 20 minutes home, and took two hours on weekends to climb a hill in the suburbs. Within two months, my insomnia was cured. After a follow-up examination, except for blood lipids, which were still a bit high, all other abnormal indicators returned to the normal range. Even my shoulders and neck, which had been so stiff that I couldn't lift them at all, felt much better.

There are actually two views in the fitness circle that are very quarrelsome. Hard-core fitness enthusiasts believe that they must go to the gym at least three times a week, and each time they lift irons for an hour and do aerobics for 40 minutes. If you don’t exercise and get muscle soreness, it means that your training is in vain.； Fans of light exercise believe that there is no need to be so tiring. Standing at work for half an hour more every day, walking two more flights of stairs, and doing five minutes of shoulder and neck stretching at home can all be considered effective exercises. To be honest, there is really nothing to argue with between the two. Essentially, they are both moving, and the one that suits you is the best. I have a friend who spent more than 3,000 yuan to get an annual fitness card and went there three times in total. Instead, he felt guilty every day because "the money was not spent." Later, he simply gave up and walked with his golden retriever at home for 40 minutes after dinner every day. In half a year, he lost 8 pounds and his fatty liver was gone.

Don’t think this is all an exception. The physical activity report released by the WHO in 2023 clearly states that completing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week (roughly a heart rate of (220-your age) × 60%, a little breathless but still able to speak normally) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 35%, the risk of depression by 30%, and even the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 20%. These data are not groundless. The endorphins secreted by the body during exercise are natural mood regulators. They can also speed up blood circulation and supply more oxygen to the brain. When you feel like your brain can't move, go for a walk or two. When you come back, your thoughts will be clear immediately. This is not an illusion.

Many people always say, "I'm too busy and have no time to exercise." But if you do the math, just watching short videos for an hour every day, squeezing in 10 minutes to stretch twice and walk around the corridor twice is really not that difficult. I used to talk about "no time", but then I set an alarm clock, stood up and stretched for 3 minutes every hour I sat down, and replaced the 10 minutes of watching short videos before going to bed with chest expansion exercises. After half a month, the shoulder and neck pain that had been bothering me for half a year was relieved by more than half, which is more effective than the 10 boxes of plasters I used before.

Of course, some people say, "My knees are bad and I can't run or jump" or "I have a chronic disease and I dare not move around." This is true. Not everyone is suitable for running, jumping and ironing. People with worn knees can choose to swim or squat against the wall. People with high blood pressure can do Tai Chi or walk slowly. As long as you ask your doctor in advance, you can choose an exercise method that suits your physical condition. The most fearful thing is not to move at all because of "fear of injury" and "not suitable". The muscle atrophy, bone loss and metabolic decline caused by lying and sitting for a long time will actually make the physical condition worse and worse. My aunt used to have synovitis in her knees, and the doctor said she couldn't run or jump. So she followed the video and did seated stretches at home every day, and walked slowly for 20 minutes in the community every morning. Now she rarely suffers from knee pain, and her overall energy is much better than before when she lay down at home every day.

In fact, to put it bluntly, exercise is really not a "drudgery" that requires you to grit your teeth and insist on it, nor does it have to be the "standard answer" to build waistcoat lines and eight-pack muscles. It is more like regularly patching and clearing the cache of your body's system - you usually stay up late, eat takeout, and sit for seven or eight hours in a row, all of which are filling the system with garbage. If you move, you will clear out these useless garbage. Even if you patch up a small patch, it is much better than letting the system freeze and crash.

Really, you don’t have to force yourself to become a fitness expert all of a sudden. If you walk 100 more steps today and stand for 5 more minutes tomorrow, you will earn money. After all, your body is yours, and if you pay more attention to it, it will be able to carry you through the ups and downs for a few more years. This deal is not a loss no matter what.