I am always on a quest to improve my health. I am not that good at it, but nonetheless, I am always trying to figure out new and improved ways to get stronger and healthier. I would love to be able to stay fit in my old age and increase my longevity. I have tried everything under the sun. Some are more fun, playing a sport for example, or more physically demanding, like a weightlifting program. These are all good and highly recommended, but after all is said and done, the best mechanism for maintaining my health has been to run. That is it, just run.
The health nut purist will tell me that you need more, weight training for example. This is true, I do not deny that. Others will talk about the wear and tear on the body; that is also partly true, not denying that either. However, when it comes to something that I can easily do no matter where I am, something that helps me feel better during and after I do it, and something that I will actually do, then running is the answer.
Running improves your mood, improves your outlook on life, is meditative, and gives you time to think. You commune with the outdoors and you learn to focus your brain on what matters at the moment. Running checks all those boxes and taxes you in profound ways. You generally improve everything when you are a runner. Your food intake automatically adjusts, your digestion improves, your fluid intake goes up, and you gain in flexibility, and everything in your life becomes easier.
Walking up a flight of stairs is not hard, running around town is easy, sitting down is easier. You are just more nimble, more agile, and generally a spry person who can and will often run whenever you can. You stop considering exercise you have to do, and instead, you start enjoying that time you have to yourself to go on a long run. People who run are generally the same; they have tapped into the very nature of themselves and as a consequence have found a certain peace.
We were born to run. Toddlers start running almost from the time they start walking. We are a bipedal species who has amazing balance, and everything in our bodies, from our feet to our head, was set up so that we could move quickly and to keep moving for long distances. Humans are a species designed to run. When we are doing things that are not our design, then things start to go wrong. We were not meant to lay around all the time, to sit in chairs, to drive around in leather seats, and to lead sedentary lives.
We were quite simply born to run, so it is not a surprise that our health, well-being, and mental acuity improves when we run. Looking for the answer to your physical fitness goals? Start running. Everything else will fall into place.
