For some reason, we think most of our problems can be solved with money or prayers. Fitness, especially, is something that lends itself well to this sort of thinking. Swanky gyms, fancy-looking equipment, magic supplements and oh-so-easy diet plans are all too exciting and make us believe that they will take us to our goals with as little effort as possible.
This is not new though. All through history, we have tried to make things easier and more convenient. Cooking, washing, travelling, eating, learning and everything else we do today is easier than it was a few years ago. Stated differently, we’ve learnt how to put in very little and get out a lot. Call it technological advancement or just plain increase in efficiency, we are constantly trying to reduce effort and increase results.
But now we’re at a point where it makes no scientific sense — we want to exert ourselves little but want our bodies to respond much. Why is this a problem? Because the human body needs to move to thrive. And without movement, it will slowly break down. It might take different amounts of time for different people, but there is absolutely no way around this requirement.
Back in the day when exercise or fitness was not a buzz word, people just lived active lives. Everything they had to do to get through the day required some form of movement or effort and that kept them strong and mobile. With time (and advancements in technology) the need to move in order to be productive reduced and, slowly, we moved less and less (while still accomplishing as much, if not more). Once enough time passed by, these small changes started taking shape into a major lifestyle change for people across continents.
This is when we recognised the role of movement in health and came up with something called exercise — a smartly packaged way of getting all our daily movement requirements in just an hour or two.
This is where we are now — from having to move all day, we’ve reached a stage where we move vigorously for about 3-4% of our day and stay sedentary for the rest. While this is smart and efficient, we’ve also packed our days so much that we aren’t able to dedicate even a paltry 30-60 minutes every day for one of our most basic needs — movement. And, unfortunately, I’m not sure we can make this any more efficient without losing quality or quantity of results.
It’s true that you don’t have to spend hours at the gym to get fit. It’s also true that money can buy things that can make fitness more interesting. But fitness is simply about investing the requisite time in moving and taking care of your body. How fit you become and how long you enjoy that fitness is purely a result of how generous you are with this investment.
Raj Ganpath is a fitness and nutrition expert and entrepreneur
