I didn’t realize how important it was to move and do physical activity until I stopped. Years after I stopped consistently training and pushing my body, I started to realize how much not moving has impacted me negatively.
Movement is medicine.
During the time of having to stay home, many people filled their free time with working out. At home workouts, walks, runs, were just a few things people were doing to keep busy. My TikTok feed was filled with “daily routines” of people doing workouts – the Chloe Ting Ab workout, eating healthy, and having fairly productive days.
During that time, I was fortunate to be working full time. But I was working reception full time, so I was sitting at a desk for 8 hours staring at a computer screen. My legs would be tired after a long day of sitting, and my eyes would be sore after staring at a screen for so long. I couldn’t do at home workouts. I was so tired every day that all I did was go home and sit on the couch after work and get more tired.
I continued that throughout all of 2020 and part of 2021. I focused more on everything else that was going on in my life and didn’t put my health first. At all. I forgot about something so important –
Movement is medicine.
“Yeah obviously.”
That would have been my mentality if someone said that to me when I was 15. I was speed skating up to 5 times a week, going to the gym, and was overall, in really good shape.
Obviously, movement is medicine.
I would have thought it was silly that someone would say something SO obvious.
I took that mentality for granted.
Just before I turned 16, I quit speed skating competitively. I was done with the sport. I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with it. I was mad at so many people and things. I no longer wanted to be known as Sylvia the girl who does speed skating. I wanted to be known as just Sylvia. I was so angry at the sport that I donated a bunch of my shirts from competitions.
I regret that a lot now.
By quitting speed skating, all the time I would have spent at the rink was spent doing homework. Hours and hours and hours of it. I stopped going to the gym. I stopped training. And I got out of shape fast.
And that continued.
I sort of went to the gym in grade 12. But not a lot.
I sort of went to the gym 1st year university. But not a lot.
Then I dropped out of school, a global pandemic hit everyone unexpectedly, and I was working full time so there was absolutely no way that I was going to get back into shape then.
I was barely moving. Often, I would hit 1000 steps a day. Maybe a little more. I wasn’t putting any time aside for me. My legs would be tired from sitting all day, my brain was drained from staring at a computer screen all day, I had absolutely no energy when I left work every day. Taking care of my body was the least of my worries.
And I continued doing that. I was putting everything first, except for myself. School, work, coaching, you name it. I was exhausted. I wasn’t feeling great. I wasn’t liking what was happening.
I forgot that movement is medicine. I forgot how important it is to get out and move.
Until recently.
The Prince George Hospice Society in hosting their 3rd Annual Colour Walk. It’s the second year of doing it virtually, so they’re encouraging people to walk 100km in the month of May and raise money for Hospice. It’s pretty awesome seeing people share all of their walks on the local Facebook page. Over 300 people are participating this year.
This year, I challenged myself to take time out of my day every day, to go for a walk and get kilometres in for the Colour Walk. And that’s what I did. Every day, I started going out for a walk and felt GREAT. Getting out and enjoying the weather was putting me in a better mood.
Movement is medicine.
And then I sprained my ankle. I went for a run and hit a pothole in the middle of the sidewalk. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK! It is the most Prince George injury ever.
Unfortunately for 10 days, I could not move. It hurt to move. I was on crutches and I was couch bound.
I started to realize how much movement was medicine.
When my ankle was more stable and I could walk on it, I took full of advantage of it. I started walking at least 5km every day, and if I didn’t walk, I was riding my bike. I started to feel better. My body was tired because I was using it, not because it was immobile for hours. My legs were sore because they were moving and being used for long periods of time, not sitting down for long periods of time.
And mentally? I am feeling so much better than I did a month ago. I am now regretting not putting my health first and taking time out of my day to workout. I think if I would have done that throughout high school, I would have felt so much better and I think I would have done so much better in school too.
Movement really is medicine. Not only is it good for you physically, but it does wonders mentally. You are putting yourself first and taking care of yourself, something that many of us forget to do in such a busy world. Heck, I forgot to do it for four years of my life, and I watched my life start to kind of fall apart around me.
Putting yourself isn’t selfish. Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish. You are important and so is your physical and mental well being.
Don’t forget. Movement is medicine.