Heart Age or Fitness Age?

Have you thinking about your health and fitness plan?

Next week the gym will be busier, there will be more google searches for “healthy recipes” and more people will be talking about getting back into a routine.

That is great news.

Which is a nice change.

This week the news about our collective health hasn’t been so positive.

The Guardian reported that 78% of adults in England have a heart age older than their actual age. You can take the test if you want, but I am not sure of the value. There is nothing I could change to make that number lower. BTW I am 52…

The Guardian also states “why are so many of us heading for an early grave?” hardly positive motivation to get fit. You might feel like you haven’t been dedicated to your own health, but that is not motivating.

Being punished for previous bad behaviour never works.

If you are interested in your fitness age take the Fitness Age Test, it is much more comprehensive and (I had much better results so definitely no bias here) estimates your fitness level then calculates that to an age score. If you score badly you can make plans to improve rather than throw in the towel.

The World Health Organization states that 1.4 billion adults worldwide aren’t getting the message that exercise is good for us. I disagree. This new research shows that the more you earn, the less you exercise. Income and education are closely linked meaning that having a higher education is making us more sedentary.

What I disagree with is the statement that we aren’t getting the message.

I believe that it would be hard to find an educated adult that doesn’t know that exercise is good for them.

This is not news.

If you disagree please let me know, but most people with a basic education know that being sedentary is not a healthy habit. However, the more money you make, the more likely it is that you will be sitting at work. You will be driving to your job. You will have all the things that make life easier and less active.

Which brings me to all the things we know about exercise.

We know that exercise makes us smarter. Exercise improves our memory, focus and attention. It improves our bone and muscle health. Exercise makes us feel good.

These factors don’t get us moving any more than scare tactics. They might work for some, and for a short time, but not over the long run.

When I see the results from my Fitness Age test I feel motivated.

Why? Because they are so good?

NO, because they make me FEEL so good. And that is the difference.

If you want to change your health and fitness it needs to feel good. September is a month of renewal because it feels good to change, to focus on something new, to look forward to something.

We are good at getting back to a new routine in September. Back to school. New clothes, new books, new friends. A new routine, a little of the unknown, a little challenge.

If the World Health Organization, or the Heart Age researchers, want to improve exercise stats they need to make people feel good. We don’t need more people telling us our bad habits are really bad. What could be useful is the “how” and the “what” delivered in a positive way that makes people want to exercise because it FEELS good to do it.

Knowing doesn’t equal doing.

If you really want to change you need to feel a little uncomfortable now and want to feel good soon. Just like those first awkward days of school. A little uncomfortable at the time, but now it feels good to have done it.

That is what I think, but I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think. What motivates you to be active? Are you happy with your current activity or would you like to do more? Do you think feeling is a better motivator than knowing?

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla