Next Up Previous Contents Index
Next: The fitness ladder Up: What, Me Exercise? Previous: Living longer

Feeling better

Exercising not only gives you more time to live, it makes the time you live more enjoyable. You'll feel better, think straighter, sleep more soundly, and have more capacity and endurance for everything you wish to do. How much? It varies from person to person; the only way to experience the benefits is to start an exercise program and see for yourself.

Fortunately, the payoff becomes apparent pretty early-on, particularly in a program like this one where you can always compare your current level of fitness with the much lower levels you strove to master only a few weeks before.

If you don't buy the ``feeling better'' argument, consider this. Virtually all medical evidence shows that if you don't exercise, you're more likely to suffer a heart attack or, if you're going to have one anyway, to have it earlier in life. Even if you're resolute in believing you won't feel one whit better from exercising, you'll certainly concede that you'll feel a whole lot worse after collapsing to the floor with a coronary. I've no direct experience with this particular unpleasantness from life's menu of surprises, but folks I've talked to who have are unanimous that it's best avoided. Those who dropped dead right away were unavailable for comment.


By John Walker