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Being fit for living

Being fit for living

Depression and exercise One of the great things that I have noticed over my 20 years as a personal trainer has been the increased prevalence of people opening up about their feelings and letting me into their world and to then listen, try to understand and to help where I can.

On the flip side however, is the fact that more people are suffering mental health issues and are becoming overwhelmed with the increased pace of life.

Allowing regular exercise into your life has so many great benefits that compound day-after-day and then week-after-week.

Exercise may improve mental health by helping the brain cope better with stress.

In one study, researchers found that those who got regular vigorous exercise were 25 per cent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over the next five years.

Recent evidence suggests that poor diet and a lack of exercise contribute to the origin and course of depression.

So, I will put it to you that most people elect to partake in regular exercise to either lose weight, look better or to increase fitness/wellness but perhaps we could all take a different approach and look to do it to help stay on top of or improve our mental health?

Food for thought. Our ever-increasing busy lives Nearly every client that first comes to see us states in their comprehensive health, posture and fitness assessment that their life is simply too busy.

One of our key strategies is to highlight this and then look to help them find a more healthy and balanced lifestyle.

It is vital for anyone with the pursuit of better health, wellbeing and fitness to address this fact.

Being busy just seems to be the way of life and far too many people almost see it as a badge of honor to say they are so busy and have too much on their plate.

I see it as the opposite. A happy and healthy person is one that can shut off from their work, is one that can take time off work and leave on their own terms.

It is important for you to start looking at what areas that you could cut down on unnecessary wasting of your time.

Value your time and make it work for you and not the other way around.

Herein lies the secret to a fun-filled, relaxed, fit and healthy life.

Workplace stress We spend almost a third of our daily life working and it is vital that we enjoy what we do in a fun, satisfying and safe workplace.

When I say safe, I am not only meaning physically safe but also mentally safe.

Many workplaces are failing in addressing the latter.

A study from Beyond Blue found that 91 per cent of Australian employees believe that mental health in the workplace is important whilst 88 per cent believe physical safety is important and yet one in five Australian employees report that they have taken time off work due to feeling mentally unwell in the past 12 months.

Only 52 per cent of employees believe their workplace is mentally healthy compared to 76 per cent for physical safety.

I highlight here that business owners need to be aware of these types of statistics and then ensure suitable workplace health initiatives and wellness programs are put in place to improve in these lacking areas.

We are involved in delivering many of these programs and, when executed properly, they have amazing results – and not just in helping employees feel valued but also increasing productivity as a result.

So, perhaps talk to your boss and see if they are doing all they can to reduce your workplace stress and help your mental health.

For a more information, exercise guidance or if you have any questions feel free to contact me anytime.   Justin Moran Just In Time Personal Training

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