Yesterday, while noticing my reflection in the side of a car, I realized, I've become that woman - the uncool one who spastically moves through the neighborhood, looking like she's walking from a predator.
In medical school, I marveled at classmates who found time to exercise regularly. "They must be smarter," I thought. They were also happier, less stressed and seemed to have a full life.
Only later did I realize, they were smarter. All that exercise was releasing a neurotransmitter that led to new neuronal connections in their brains. While mine sat in the library, being crammed with things like the "krebs cycle," their brains were happily growing as they bobbled through the park. When they did sit down to study, they learned faster and retained new information longer. Researchers, who can be so annoying, would say they were also more creative, more energetic, more content and less anxious than if they hadn't worked out.
It wasn't that physical activity made them smarter - it was that the lack of it that made the rest of us stupider and more stressed. Exercise wasn't a luxury. It was a natural need which once fulfilled, allowed them to accomplish more and enjoy more.
Eventually, I realized they were onto something. Though gymnastics had been a big part of my earlier life, I stopped moving (very much) when I went to college. Thoughts of having a better body or becoming a centenarian didn't motivate me, nor did fears of future pain, misery or medical bills. What finally did, was seeing the impact on my day to day experience.
Today, I think of aerobic exercise as the strange things we do to get our bodies moving and our heart rate up, so we can be who we're supposed to be. It can't make us more than that. In fact, in excess, many of the benefits are lost.
Though our fit ancestors who hunted, gathered, built and kept that flame burning might be baffled by our running and biking to nowhere, we don't have a lot of choices. We can take up their lifestyle, accept a lesser version of ourselves or "just do it." (Nike didn't ask me to say that... I wish they had)
Many will argue that there are psychological barriers to getting started. I do understand. Some will say they want to start, but their subconscious tells them they're not worthy, or that the self defeating part of them is standing in the way. I say, "If you want to delve deep into your psychological resistance, do so for 30 minutes at least four times a week while moving your body enough to reach 70% of your maximum heart rate. Your subconscious and conscious will thank you. While our ancestors were being chased by lions, they weren't analyzing why they were running ….. Maybe we shouldn't either.