“Roughly half of cancer deaths in the United States could be prevented or forestalled if all Americans quit smoking, cut back on drinking, maintained a healthful weight and got at least 150 minutes of exercise each week”.*
Wow! Where to start? How about by moving more? If you are running marathons, or doing cardio at the gym 5 times each week, you’ve got this one down. If your dog dances at the front door until you take her out, you may have a super accountability partner. For the rest of us, this will require more organization and/or more commitment to making it happen. The study published online at JAMA Oncology called for 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise each week. We should be clear that this is to reduce cancer risk. We aren’t talking heart health here, weight loss or peace of mind. You might need to do more and more variety for that.
Honestly, pull out your calendar. How many times do you randomly fit in exercise? Oh, a walk with a friend just happens. Putting on your shoes and going for a run just pops up now and then. And the gym, well that gym membership was last used…. hmmm, once in January? Even when we schedule it, we may blow it off to finish that project, return calls or read email. Just like our commitment to Private Work Time (PWT), our commitments to ourselves fall to the bottom of the list on a regular basis.
That is a choice you are making. You can choose to honor yourself by keeping your commitment to exercise or choose to give your power away to the urgent, less important, daily tasks. BTW, having a partner hugely increases your probability of working out. Grab a friend, schedule it on your calendar and get moving. Enjoy your week!
* 4 ways to halve cancer death risk, L.A. Times 5/22/16