Sink or swim

I love to chill out just as much as the next guy. Lying down on the couch, just kicking back and watching TV series or reading. In fact, I can be so sedentary I’m almost vegetative. When I’m in the chillax zone, you sometimes have to poke me with a stick to see if I’m still alive.

Heck, most of the exercise I get is finding where I parked my car in the shopping mall parking lot. They can be really confusing…

…which is why I always take a photo before I leave my car.

However, that’s no way to live. Exercise is very important. I’ll give you one good reason:

You expect people to look good before you’ll label them “hot”. The beautiful people get all the attention. Well, do you want to be the person that never gets noticed or the one that gets all the double takes and half-whispered “I’ll totally hit that” comments?

I live in a condo so I have a lot of usual facilities available right where I stay. There’s a full fledged gym but something about stationary bikes and treadmills doesn’t really appeal to me. I admit. I’m lazy. I even go so far as to use the #1 excuse for not exercising:

I don’t have time.

It doesn’t take a lot of time to exercise. You just need to get your cardio going for about 20 minutes to reap the benefits. I’ve been hitting the swimming pool at the roof almost every day for about 3 months now. It started out being a bit of a chore but the trick is to keep going at it.

I like swimming. I just don’t like the idea of “wasting time” while I’m swimming. However, ever since I started about 3 months back, I’ve noticed that my mind has become clearer. I can think while I’m swimming. A flood (no pun intended) of ideas usually go through my mind when I’m doing laps and some of them are my best ones.

It turned out not to be a waste of time at all.

Furthermore, it’s so easy to do it. You just need to get into a routine. For me, it’s:

• Change into my Speedos
• Wrap a towel around myself
• Put on a t-shirt
• Grab my keycard
• Head up the lift
• Hit the swimming pool

I find it personally rewarding to swim coz after a while you get an endorphin rush.

Regular exercise has been proven to help reduce stress. It’s the primary reason why I do it. I also like to swim coz you exercise all the muscle groups in the body and it makes it easier for you to fall asleep at night. It helps with my insomnia. #truestory

However, motivation can be a big issue for people who’ve just started exercising. I know. I’ve stopped and gave myself a thousand excuses before going at it seriously this past 3 months. I feel better, healthier and generally more happy.

It requires iron will and discipline though…sometimes I literally have to force myself to walk out of my place and take the lift to the swimming pool. I’ll be protesting all the way until I hit the water…and then it’s all good. Just remember that.

Swimcam (TM)

However, if you need a bit of a push, try getting a friend to go exercise together. You can also ask someone who’s better than you to be a “pacer” e.g. they set the pace and you have to follow. It really helps get through the times when you just want to to do nothing.

Setting targets and recording your successes are very important too. I swim at least an hour now, two on weekends. I started out by swimming barely 20 minutes before I got out. You really feel an accomplishment when you start feeling the need to go exercise instead of giving yourself excuses. It’s true! It will happen at some point – you’ll want to exercise and crave for it after regular, daily exercise.

You can choose whatever is the most convenient for you. I swim because I like it and it’s just upstairs so I can follow my schedule and hit the pool every day. You can choose to jog or walk if that’s easier or more enjoyable for you. There’s also a show called Sihat 1 Malaysia hosted by Fahrin Admad with health advice like healthy eating and psychical exercise. It also features the latest celebrities – Siti Saleha, Chef Zaidah, Ifa Raziah and more sharing their stories and personal health tips. Head on over to http://gayahidupsihat.my for more!

The physical and psychological health benefits, you’ll know for yourself after a while. The other benefits? Well, prepare to have people comment on how much weight you’ve lose or how much healthier you look now. 🙂