Do We Take Our Health For Granted?

What If You Didn’t Have a Choice?

I have wanted to put this out there for a very long time but hesitated. Please bear with me as I stand on my soap box.

There are days when exercise feels like one more thing on the list.

You're tired. You're busy. You didn't sleep well. Your schedule is packed. Maybe your knees are a little achy or you just don't feel particularly motivated.

So you think, I'll do it tomorrow.

I understand that. I have those days too.

But over the last several years, I've started looking at those days differently.

My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at just 53 years old.

And watching someone you love live with a disease that progressively affects his ability to control his own body has a way of changing what you consider a burden—and what you recognize as a privilege.

We Assume Our Bodies Will Always Cooperate

Most of us wake up and tell our bodies what to do without thinking much about it.

Stand up.

Walk across the room.

Reach into a cabinet.

Carry the groceries.

Get down on the floor.

Pick up a grandchild.

We expect our legs to move when we ask them to. We expect our hands to grip. We expect our balance to catch us when we stumble. Even if we don't quite feel as spry as we once did.

It's remarkably easy to take it for granted.

There are millions of people living with neurological diseases, cancer, autoimmune conditions, injuries, chronic pain and other illnesses who don't get to simply decide how their body is going to feel that day.

And yet, when our own bodies are capable, we can sometimes treat movement as an inconvenience.

That's the part I've had to rethink.

Illness Doesn't Care That You're Tired

This may sound harsh, but it has become one of the biggest shifts in my thinking:

Disease doesn't take the day off because you're tired.

Aging doesn't stop because you've had a busy week.

Muscle loss doesn't wait until your schedule settles down.

Bone doesn't know that you haven't been feeling motivated lately.

That doesn't mean we should never rest. Rest is part of taking care of your body. There is an enormous difference between recovery and repeatedly putting your health at the bottom of the list.

We often think taking care of ourselves is something we'll get serious about when we "need to."

But sometimes, by the time you desperately need your strength, balance and physical reserve, building them becomes much harder.

It's Not About Motivation

That changes the way I think about my own workouts.

When your body is healthy, exercise can feel optional.

When you're fighting to maintain your ability to walk well, balance, move freely or remain independent, movement takes on an entirely different meaning.

Suddenly, getting stronger isn't about looking better in your clothes.

It's about staying capable.

And maybe we shouldn't have to wait for illness to understand that.

You Are Building a Reserve

One of the reasons I care so much about strength training as we age is that we're not simply training for what our bodies can do today.

We're building a reserve for whatever comes later.

More muscle.

Stronger bones.

Better balance.

Greater cardiovascular capacity.

The ability to get yourself off the floor.

The strength to carry something heavy.

The physical capacity to tolerate an illness, injury, surgery or period of inactivity without starting from zero.

None of us can guarantee ourselves good health. We can't exercise our way out of every disease. We can't control our genetics, accidents or diagnoses.

But we can build a stronger body for whatever life asks of it.

That's a very different reason to exercise.

Your Body Is Giving You an Opportunity

I don't want this message to come from a place of guilt.

I want it to come from gratitude.

If you can walk into the gym today, that's something.

If your hands can grip a dumbbell, that's something.

If your legs can squat down and stand back up, that's something.

If your heart and lungs can work hard enough that you're breathing heavily, that's something.

Even if those things aren't as easy as they used to be.

Your body doesn't have to be perfect for you to appreciate what it can still do.

And caring for it doesn't have to mean punishing it.

It means using it. Challenging it. Resting it when it needs rest. Feeding it well.

And giving it reasons to stay strong.

Someday, You May Wish You Could

There may come a time in any of our lives when movement isn't entirely our choice.

Illness may change things. Injury may change things. Age may change things.

That's not meant to scare you. It's meant to change the lens.

Instead of thinking:

I have to work out today.

Maybe try:

I get to use my body today.

I get to ask my muscles to become stronger.

I get to challenge my balance.

I get to make my heart work.

I get to invest in a body that I hope will carry me through many more years of life.

My dad's diagnosis taught me something I wish I could have learned another way:

The ability to move your body is not something you are promised forever.

So while it's yours, use it.

Not because you hate your body.

Not because you're trying to make up for what you ate.

Not because you need to look a certain way.

Because having a body that can move is a privilege worth protecting.

Next time motivation wanes, try a small dose of discipline and a whole lot of gratitude.

Cheers to good health,

Maryann

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