The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
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Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.
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Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.
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Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
In my 20's I had my manager/mentor drag me to the gym after a particularly stressful week of projects/clients. He introduced me to weightlifting as he had a background in amateur sport for which it was a benefit. I've been lifting on and off (just bought a rack/barbell/bench for my home gym) and I love the mental and physical benefits. Like others I started doing it for the girls. Now I do it for me.
I was also introduced to running when I was 18 for work related reasons. I've kept up with that (on and off) even when a gym hasn't been available. I go through periods of no exercise and generally get fed up with lack of energy/brain fog/being overweight and then go on a health kick to get things under control.
From my point of view, its much easier to maintain fitness as a lifestyle (or at least something familiar that you can return to) when you are exposed to it while younger. Have you tried to introduce an adult to say.. swimming or bike riding if they've never been exposed to those activities? Watch their looks of incredulity at their suggestion. You might as well suggest belly dancing on a public stage.
Although if I was going to suggest something to someone who had never exercised, Hiking would probably be the gateway drug. Almost everyone can walk a fair distance and if you get them to do it in the sunshine there is the double whammy of Vitamin D exposure and endorphins. Combine that with being their 'exercise partner' to keep them accountable and you have a better chance of getting some traction.
FWIW, I learned to ride a bike in my mid-20s. It took about a half hour of messing around in a parking garage (riding uphill as a learner is much easier because you can pedal harder without going fast) to get the basics down and then maybe like five rides outside to be reasonably competent.
Swimming, on the other hand, I've basically written off and triathlons with it. I can doggy paddle around or do a really goofy semi-freestyle well enough to keep myself alive if I needed to, but actually putting my face in the water is deeply uncomfortable and I just don't care to learn at this point. So, yeah, pretty much what you said.
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