Ever since I joined the nearby fitness centre, I’ve been working out almost every day. Today I did some cardio, and I enjoyed every single minute of it. It is amazing to see the changes my body is undergoing. What’s more, I don’t know anything that would be just as effective as sport when it comes to stress release. Well, some might say herbal tea is a close second, but I just stick to my fitness routine.

As we all know, physical activity is good for both our body and our mind, as well as adding years to our lives and life to our years! The great thing about working out is that it can definitely improve our mood. By exercising, we have time to relax and forget about work. We might also feel better about our appearance and ourselves when we exercise regularly. Obviously, there are many other health benefits of physical activity, as it reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, controls our weight, strengthens our bones and our muscles, and the list could go on and on.

Now that I’m back to my regular routine, I feel more energised, and I see absolutely no reason to have it any other way but to keep up with it for the rest of my life.

When you feel blue, nervous or stressed a great way to calm yourself down is if you had a good workout in the gym.

Today I began my exercise on the treadmill. My usual routine is a 5 km. run on a 10 km./hour speed, but today I needed something stronger. I’ve decided to challenge myself and see whether I could do a 10 km. run instead. I heard somewhere that running is 90% mental and only the rest is physical. Well, I couldn’t agree more. You might feel a bit tired after the first couple of kilometres, but the challenge is to win the mind game.

As I always loved math, I play different brain-teasers to kill time and to keep myself busy. For example, at 2 km., I do a sum in my head how much sooner I would finish the whole distance if I sped up to 11 km./ hour or at 2.5 km., I tell myself that I have only four more of those to go. Then I calculate how calories I would burn at the end of my run based on what I burnt so far, and the list of math exercises could go on and on. In the meantime, I make sure that I pay attention to my breathing while on the treadmill, and I also try to keep myself in the present for the whole time. It might sound strange to you, but what helps me to stay in the present is if I imagine that I leave my body and start looking at myself, my movements from a distance. It takes a while to develop your visualisation to that degree, but with practise it can be achieved. I understand that running can be rather boring, but I encourage you to find a way to enjoy the race. If music helps you keep going, then listen to your iTunes, if watching a movie or reading is your thing, then do that, but go all the way and never give up.

Building a stronger and more energised body can take us all the way.

I make sure that I practise my yoga, go for a jog, or swim at least 4 times a week in order to be fit.