It's been awhile since my last post (apologies!). Many things have been happening in my life lately. Notably, I have been busy working and, in my spare time, enjoying the wonderful weather we've been getting in Ottawa - and it's about time we have some sunshine!
I know many people who deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during the winter (depression due to lack of sunlight). I have had difficulty with this in the past. Fortunately, the last 2 winters have been warmer than usual so I was outdoors more often. Now, snowshoeing has turned to biking and hiking for me.
I can't highlight enough the importance of physical exercise for mental health. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a hypocrite: some days, it seems difficult to get motivated to exercise. Thus, I am trying harder to build exercise into my life in non-traditional ways. I have never been a big fan of going to the gym or doing routine workouts. As well, I need some mental training to increase motivation when I don't feel like exercising.
A friend of mine, Danielle Cardinal, runs FitFleet Fitness, a mobile personal training service. She has started a program called "Outside the Box" whereby participants can take part in a unique exercise experience once a month. The activities include things like tree climbing, spinning, BOSU Training, and kayaking, to name a few.
What do you do for exercise other than jogging or going to the gym? What do you do that you find particularly helpful for both mental health simultaneously?
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
After a few years of being fairly inactive except for walking to work, I re-started doing physical activity (PA) back in December and it's the best thing I could have done in a long time!!
With my job (working 60+ hours/wk), exercising/PA allows me to forget about work for a while and gives me renewed energy (this greatly benefits my mental health). I also get the added benefit of a more toned body.
Activities that I've been doing include latin/ballroom dancing, volleyball, biking, indoor rock climbing and a great weight training type class at the gym. I'm looking forward to more of that, plus tennis, jogging/walking and beach volleyball this summer!
I'm not a big gym person, so I find the group and outdoor activities really help me stay motivated to get moving. Sometimes it helps to try new things until you find that one sport/activity that you will love and stick with.
I like your points about exercise. Some people prefer to get outside in better weather because the sunshine uplifts the spirit. Other people would avoid the gym like the plague. At least we're often lucky to have options.
I have friends who live in Rovaniemi, Finland, close to the Arctic Circle. During winter, that area of the world is lucky to get 4 hours of daylight per day. On the flip side, in summer, the sun can seem to be up above the horizon 20 hrs per day. The length of daylight statistically affects energy level, motivation & mental health. You may understand why conditioning is said to affect our spirit.
Post a Comment