How To Make Fitness A Habit?

One of my school teachers often used to say, “First you spend health to earn wealth and then you spend wealth to earn health”. Though this sentence is more than 10 years old, still it is very fresh in my mind. During that time seldom did any one in the class understood the essence and true meaning of the school teacher’s seemingly innocuous statement which later might have haunted many of us who are running the rat race. Today when I look back and reflect upon what I feel was a warning, my teacher was so very right. Through his innocent statement my teacher was actually telling the class what lies ahead of us once we are out of the cosy bed of school life and set to traverse the thorny road of cut throat competition. He gave us one of the most important lessons of life, which, however hard I may try, is impossible to go out of my mind.

I would be simply exaggerating if I would say that since my school days I was conscious about my fitness or even contemplated of making fitness a habit. However, the regular dose of sports that was offered to me in school was enough to keep me in good shape. It is true that the values that are imbibed in you right from your childhood have a long life. Be it the physical exercise or discipline, if practised regularly, becomes a part of you. In the language of sports, there is something called as the muscle memory. To put it in simple terms, the chores or the activities that you practise on a regular basis becomes a part of your muscle memory and advertently or inadvertently becomes a part of you.

The need for fitness in today’s competitive world is enormous. Apart from the mental fitness which is a must, the role of physical fitness cannot be ignored. It is not in the 21st century that the importance of fitness was recognized, but, the significance of fitness dates back to 19th century when Charles Darwin propounded the “survival of the fittest” theory. To draw parallels with our current surroundings, it can be said that the one who is the fittest among the lot is expected to climb up the ladder of success with ease, whereas the unfit ones are bound to succumb under pressure and collapse like a pack of cards.

In today’s modern world, people resort to different sources of fitness like Gymnasium, Zumba, Yoga, and Sports to achieve their common goal of living a healthy life. Based on my interactions with my friends and colleagues, I have observed that some of the highly motivated fitness freaks lack consistency and give up in a week or two. They expect fast results and are unwilling to travel that extra mile to achieve fitness. If I were to delve deep into this and understand why my friends and colleagues found it daunting and overwhelming to devote one or two hours of the day for their fitness, I can think of something that I already discussed before; muscle memory. The extant literature states that it takes 21 days to form a habit. If the body is tuned to waking up early in the morning and then doing the fitness activities for a period of 21 days, then, this habit is formed and is stored in the muscle memory. For some the 21-day rule may work wonders and for some it might be just another myth. However, the essence here lies in not giving up. To cut the story short, consistency (in terms of exercising or any other form of fitness activity) is the key to unlock the closed doors of a fit body.

Thus, I would conclude by saying that in order to make fitness a habit, consistent efforts have to be undertaken in that direction. Exercising for one day a week and expecting a body like Michael Phelps or Cristiano Ronaldo or Virat Kohli is like building castles in the air. To make fitness a habit, one should follow 4D’s – Dedication, Determination, Devotion, and Discipline. Practising the 4D’s will only take you one step closer to making fitness a life-long habit. And once, this habit is inculcated in you, then you would not have to spend your hard-earned wealth on your health.

Note: This article is written as a part of Gympik Fit-A-Thon contest and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. Gympik is not responsible for any kind of infringement caused.