As students and professionals trying live healthy lives, we hear a great deal about how important it is to keep our bodies physically active in our free time.

Unfortunately, we end up fighting an endless battle of getting motivated and getting away from the TV and computer. What we fail to realize in this fight is that the easiest and most effective way to get yourself to be active is to look at working out as a way of life and not as an added task to your already hectic daily agenda.

A lot of people believe they are too busy to exercise. Juggling school, work, organization involvement, and other responsibilities, for example, is already extremely time consuming. Spending time being socially active will surely benefit your life, however, taking the time to take care of yourself will make you better at all of your life responsibilities, including school and work.

According to John Perrine, R.N., M.S., a clinical exercise physiologist at John C. Lincoln Hospital, being physically active will improve

your quality of life and general health and give you a much needed energy boost. He further states that all of these things lead to less overall downtime due to feeling tired and sick, making you more efficient and successful in each of your life roles.

An equally important note is that taking care of yourself with regular physical activities demonstrates to others how to live a healthy lifestyle. Students who live an active lifestyle often engage in other healthy habits, as well, such as eating right and not smoking. Being physically active becomes even more important as we age. Unfortunately, the trend with us as we age is less exercise.

Initially staring an exercise program can seem complicated with all of the choices that exist, but exercise can be broken down into two general components: Strength training and cardiovascular training. Both types of exercise are important for your overall health and should be incorporated into your activity program.

Many People believe that strength training is not for them because it is about “building muscles.” This is a stretch of the truth. Weight training is about maintaining and gaining functional strength required for our daily responsibilities, including being able to pick up and put away groceries, carry our children, get up form a chair, reach for objects, and walk up a flight of stairs without becoming winded. As we age, it becomes increasingly important to strengthen muscles just for daily living.

The second component of a complete activity program is cardiovascular exercise. The easiest cardiovascular program to start and stick with is walking program. Regular walking at moderate intensity has been shown to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, increase endurance and boost bone strength, and control body weight. Not only does this decrease your risk of heart and lung disease, it will help prevent osteoporosis, too. Getting enough weight-bearing exercise is on of the most important ways to take care of your bones.

The best part about exercise is that we are never too old to get started. Health benefits and protection from disease are related to exercise programs, regardless of the age of the participant. By starting an exercise program, you won’t only be benefiting your health; you will be teaching and inspiring others to live healthy and be active too. Be a healthy and be a healthy example to all who know you.