What is an Active LifeStyle?
Here’s a challenge: define active lifestyle. Do you immediately think a weight lifter? A runner? A person who lives in the gym? It’s a very simple concept, yet unfortunately, only about 20% of the population lives an active lifestyle. Simply put, it’s acclimating more physical activity into our daily routines. This physical activity can include advanced levels such as lifting weights, running, or high intensity interval training. However, an active lifestyle can involve walking the dog, stretching every day, or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Integrating minor adjustments like these into our lives can pay great dividends in our overall mental and physical health.
Here at DeemedFit, we value the importance of integrating an active lifestyle into our daily routines so that we can live long, happy, and healthy lives with friends and family. There’s a million reasons why an active lifestyle is paramount to our sustainability, but we cut that list a tad short and provided what we believe are the 5 most important reasons to live an active lifestyle.
1) You’ll Look Better
Everyone knows that if you exercise daily and eat right, you will look better. You may not see the changes from day to day. However, if you stay consistent and continue on the active path, you know that the results will show. First responders need to look squared away at work. They will look more professional and taken more seriously by the public. It won’t be easy sometimes to work on your physical being. It can be a grind, but the view from the top of the mountain will be worth the climb.
2) You’ll Feel Better Mentally
There is no greater feeling than the endorphin release after completing a workout. This chemical release literally cures pain and enhances our perceptions with a much more sound and positive view. This makes the saying, “Look good, feel good” the ultimate truth behind the importance of living an active lifestyle. With increased mental clarity and physical well being, a person is able to complete daily tasks with maximum potential. First Responders deal with a tremendous amount of stress. It becomes wearing on the body and mind. We need to have optimized mental health so that we can perform our duties in the best possible way.
3) Optimize Work-level Performance
This essentially piggybacks off reason #2. However, being that work is an essential part of life, it needs its own section. A person that lives an active lifestyle will be able to think clearer, perform better, and have much more energy than someone who doesn’t practice an active lifestyle. This can lead to work-related awards such as perhaps a raise or promotion, where the optimal worker’s overall livelihood is greatly enhanced compared to his or her less active peers. We first responders too often take the stress of the job home with us. however, we need an outlet to work off our stress. Off duty exercise will significantly optimize our on duty performance.
4) Cardiovascular Benefits
Some individuals may not want to go to lift weights or run a few miles throughout the neighborhood. However, adding just minor tweaks to life such as walking a few minutes a day can have life-saving benefits on a person‘s heart health. As we get older, our cardiovascular system is the most important system to be kept intact. With enhanced daily activity, common ailments such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease, which affect too high of a percentage of first responders in this country, can be avoided.
5) You Live Longer
Life is a beautiful thing. We may not be young forever, but we can certainly slow down the aging process by integrating a little bit more physical activity into our lives. We all too often hear first responders discuss how close they are to retirement. The goal is to enjoy retirement and collect a pension as long as we possibly can. We don’t need to train like we are going to the Olympics, but that five minute walk a day, that extra walk of the dog, or that periodic walk to the store instead of driving, can play an extremely powerful role in ensuring that we are on this beautiful planet as long as possible.
Here at DeemedFit, we are full time first responders like you. We want nothing more than to ensure that you understand the importance of an active lifestyle for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Now, get up, get living, and get active.
