＜英語原文の後に日本語要約が続きます＞

I remember seeing the crowd at my local LA Fitness shortly after New Year and wondered how many people were there on their new year’s resolution. Every year, a good amount of people wants to ring in the new year with a body transformation. I am sure you are no stranger to this phenomenon. You probably know someone who did that, or you might be that someone.

Fast forward to March, now with less than half of the crowd at the same gym, a new question emerged. Why is it that so few people can stay committed to their fitness goals? Is it simply a lack of willpower and motivation (like most people would have you believe), or could it be something deeper?

Before we dive into the issue of commitment, let’s review what we know about why we should exercise.  No, it is not because we need to look like the models in fitness magazines or one of the marvel superheroes. Those bodies are unattainable for most of us, if for no other reason than the fact that looking good is the job of actors and models.

In addition, there is body image. It is what mainstream culture tells us how perfect female and male bodies should look. These messages are all around us; on billboards, on television, in movies, in books, and on the most omnipresent of them all, the internet.

Consciously or subconsciously we are affected by the cultural influence of body image. That is why, as a collective, we more or less agree on the desirable male and female body types. The consequence of this consensus is that we look at other body types negatively.

 I think what we must do before embarking on journey of an active life is to first forget our preconceptions of the person who exercises. Forget the muscular men you have seen in the gym. Forget the ladies with six-pack abs. Forget the athletes performing unbelievable feats. Most importantly, forget what “looks good”. That is not the most important reason why we should exercise.

So why, then, do we exercise? That is a rhetorical question that I believe you already have the answer to. Yet, the answer is worth reviewing because physical activity is so much more than “it is good for you”. Let me start with what I think is the most beneficial, brain health. I think I would not be making an overstatement when I say that our quality of life is drastically reduced without a healthy brain. So what does physical activity have to offer for our brains?

Well, lots. For children, regular exercises can improve cognition, such as academic performance, executive function, processing speed, memory, mood, anxiety, and sleep. For adults, it can reduce the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and improve mood, anxiety, and sleep. It can also help older adults retain their cognitive abilities. For me, these benefits are enough motivation. But if you are not convinced yet, read on.

Physical Activity can reduce your health risk. What kind of health risk can be reduced you asked? The answer is any and all. Exercising can boost your immune system, protecting your body from viral or bacterial infection. Of course it cannot make you completely immune to illnesses, nothing can. But believe it or not, recent research showed that physical activity can actually help you resist COVID-19 infection. The same study also shows that there is a difference in the outcomes of COVID-19 infections between active and sedentary bodies. Physical activity can also reduce the risks of chronic health problems like cardiovascular diseases (heart attacks and stroke), diabetes, some cancers, and many more. Even for people who already live with these diseases, physical activity can help them manage their conditions. For example, exercising can help people living with type 2 diabetes manage their blood glucose levels.

Ok, now to the last point, physical activity is good for your muscles and bones. No, I am not circling back to talk about the benefits of looking good. Your muscles and bones are not just for showing off. As we age, we gradually lose our muscles and bone density. This is something that affects women more than men. What it means is that we get weaker and our bones get more brittle with age. Many people mistake this as part of aging. I am here to tell you that we can slow it down. Weak muscles and bones can lead to many bad things, like falling, broken bones, “shrinking”, and losing the ability to do things in general.

Besides the mechanical aspect, physical activity helps with diseases like arthritis, osteoporosis, and other rheumatic conditions. It can help you live longer too. And not just living longer, but to live longer with a higher quality of life. If that is not having your cake and eat it too, I don’t know what is.

The flip side to all of this is that a sedentary lifestyle will increase your health risks. There are not many reasons to not be active. The best part is that you don’t even need to be a gym rat to reap all of the benefits of physical activity. So why do so many people have commitment issues when it comes to the gym? The answer is twofold.

The first is that sometimes the gym just does not work for everyone. Going to the gym actually takes quite a lot of effort (and money). You have to get dressed. You have to pack your gym bag. You have to drive there. You have to change. But none of that is more difficult than finding the time. We are all busy people. Most of us are either working, parenting, being a husband or wife, doing house chores, taking care of parents, or resting from exhaustion. If there is some extra time, we need to relax and entertain ourselves to stay sane. There is just no time to make a dedicated trip to work out. We may be able to forcefully overcome these barriers by waking up earlier, going to bed later, or squeezing a little bit of time out of other obligations for a short period of time. But once the motivation runs out, it becomes increasingly harder to make it to the gym.

The second is that working out in a gym is simply not enjoyable for some of us. I must admit, picking weights up, moving them around, and putting them down can sound a bit boring. I have also noticed that a lot of us are intimidated by the people in the gym. That kind of environment can make most novice uncomfortable. Comparing ourselves to the regulars at the gym who look “fit” and can move around impressive amounts of weight can bring down our confidence and motivation. The final straw is that results take a long time to reveal themselves. Even though the invisible benefits of exercise are almost immediate, muscle growth can range from none at all to 60% by following a long-term weight training program. That means it will take quite a while before we can see the physical changes in our bodies from working out. Most of us do not have that kind of patience.

You may be expecting a solution at this point. I am afraid that there is none. If you are one of many who cannot commit to the gym for the above two very valid reasons, I am sorry to say you cannot do something that doesn’t fit your lifestyle and that you don’t enjoy. I do, however, have an alternative. Sharp-eyed readers may notice that I have used two phrases “exercising” and “physical activity” interchangeably. They actually point to two slightly different things. Exercising is more specific; it usually involves some predetermined movements performed in a regimental routine. Physical activity, on the other hand, refers to movements in general. Why do we care about this minute difference? It is because general movements are much easier to integrate into our lives.

If you have a busy life and want to stay active at the same time, then you need to capitalize on every opportunity. Recall that physical activity requires no set routine or specific movements. Physical activity can be anything that gets you moving and can be performed at any time. This eliminates the need to go to the gym for a set amount of time or to follow a specific fitness program. You simply have to move every chance you get. Let me give you some examples. Take the stairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator. This can be done at home (if you live in a multi-level building), while commuting (if you don’t work from home anymore), at the office, at the mall, or anywhere you find yourself where descending or ascending between levels is necessary. Leave the car at home (or park further away) and walk instead. This substitution can be made for grocery runs, picking up your children, getting a coffee, getting lunch, or going anywhere within walking distance.

The goal is 30 minutes a day. Using a personal example, when I commuted to work pre-COVID, it would take me approximately 10-15 minutes to walk to the TTC station and from the TTC station to my office (including some stairs). By going to work and returning home I am already close to achieving the recommended amount of daily physical activity. Living an active lifestyle by using some of the suggestions above is often enough to enjoy most of the health benefits of physical activity.

As you slowly build up your endurance by turning your lifestyle into an active one, or if you are someone who is adamant about performing some sort of exercise to feel active, I have another suggestion for you. Note that if you turn your lifestyle into an active one, exercising is just the icing on the cake. My suggestion is another simple one, find something that you enjoy doing. If you have tried going to the gym and you don’t like it, then it is not for you. But the important thing here is to try. That is the first step. Exercising must be a hobby that you like (or love) doing. It definitely cannot be something that you dread, because you will eventually give up on it, no matter how good that exercise is for you. Why confine yourself to only one option when the possibilities are endless? Start with trying something that is free and readily available.

For example, try trail walking or hiking. There are numerous trails in and around Toronto waiting for you to discover. If nature is not your thing, try walking up the many slopping streets of Toronto. Or take your family out for a bike ride along the Toronto lakefront. Or make the most of winter and try some winter sports. Even just playing with your kids at the park. As I said, the possibilities are endless. Go play and have fun. Speaking of fun, my personal suggestion to you is to try some different sports. There are many drop-in programs available in Toronto at your local community centre. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to enjoy sports. Fun can be had at different levels of skill. Again, the important thing is to try. Find what excites you. The goal is to replace the sedentary hobbies that you do for entertainment, such as TV watching, with an exercise you enjoy. The suggestions here do not even scratch the surface of what is available out there. If you have read this far, you owe it to yourself to explore the options.

I am going to leave you, my dear reader, with some more resources in case you want to dive deeper into this subject. Canada’s 24 Hour Movement Guide is helpful, and so is the CDC’s comprehensive Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. I want you to remember that we get active and/or exercise not to live up to the harmful body images that mainstream culture tries to tell us. We are striving to be the best version of ourselves within our own unique circumstances. It is not about whether others think you look good. It is about whether you feel good. This is not just about us either. An active lifestyle is infectious. You can influence your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, or your friends to get moving if you live an active life. I want to remember two other very important things.

First, find every opportunity to move. Ditch the car, skip the elevator, and avoid sitting down. Second, make it a goal to try something new every week or month to find something that you enjoy doing. Bonus if you can find something that can do with someone you love. Not only will you help another person get active, exercising together helps with committing to an active lifestyle and increasing the fun factor.

That is enough talk, now get out of your chair and get your move on!

＜要約＞

新年を迎えて間もなく、地元のスポーツ・フィットネスジムLA Fitnessの人出を見ると、毎年、結構な人数が肉体改造で新年をスタートしたいと思っているようです。皆さんもこの現象に見覚えがあるのではないでしょうか。知人あるいは自分がその一人かもしれませんね。

3月に入り、同じジムに通う人が半分以下に減ってくると新たな疑問が浮かびます。なぜ、これほどまでにフィットネスを続けられる人が少ないのでしょうか？それは単に意志力やモチベーションの欠如なのか、それとももっと深いところに原因があるのでしょうか？

まず、なぜ運動をすべきなのかを考えてみましょ う。 フィットネス雑誌のモデルやスーパーヒーローのような体型になりたいからではありません。そんな体型は、ほとんどの人にとって実現不可能です。「ボディイメージ」というものがありますが、これは主流の文化が完ぺきな女性や男性の体とはどんなものなのかを見せることで形成されます。これらのメッセージは、看板、テレビ、映画、本、そしてインターネット上のいたる所にと、私たちの周囲にあふれています。

私たちは、意識的にも無意識的にもボディイメージの文化的影響にさらされているのです。そのため、私たちは望ましい男性や女性の体型はどんなものか多かれ少なかれ同意しているのです。このコンセンサスの結果、私たちは他の体型を否定的に見ることになるのです。アクティブな生活を始める前に必要なことは、まず運動する人に対する先入観を忘れることだと思います。ジムで見た筋肉質な男性は忘れてください。腹筋が6つに割れている女性も忘れてください。信じられないようなパフォーマンスをするアスリートも忘れてください。最も重要なことは、「見栄え」を忘れることです。

皆さんはすでに、なぜ運動したほうがよいのかという質問の答えを知っていると思いますが、体を動かすことは「体に良い」以上の意味があるため、その答えを見直す価値があります。まず、私が最も有益だと思う脳の健康。脳が健康でなければ、私たちの生活の質は劇的に低下すると言っても過言ではないでしょう。

体を動かすことの脳への効果はたくさんあります。子どもの場合、定期的に運動すると、学業成績、実行機能、処理速度、記憶、気分、不安、睡眠などの認知機能が向上します。成人の場合、アルツハイマー病など認知症のリスクを減らし、気分、不安、睡眠を改善することができます。また、高齢者の認知能力維持にもよい。これらの利点を考えると私にとって十分な動機付けとなります。

体を動かすと病気になるリスクを減らすこともできます。運動は免疫力を高め、ウイルスやバクテリアの感染から体を守ります。もちろん運動によって病気から完全に解放されるわけではありません。しかし、最近の研究では、体を動かすことで実際にCOVID-19感染に抵抗力を発揮することがわかりました。

また、同じ研究で、活動的な体とあまり動かない体では、COVID-19に感染しても差が出ると示されています。体を動かすことは、心血管疾患（心臓発作や脳卒中）、糖尿病、一部の癌など、慢性的な病気にかかるリスクを軽減することができます。すでにこれらの病気を抱えている人でも運動は役立ちます。例えば、2型糖尿病の人は、運動することで血糖値を管理できます。

さて、最後のポイントですが、体を動かすことは筋肉と骨に良い。見た目の美しさについてではありません。加齢に伴い筋肉や骨密度は徐々に低下していきますが、特に女性には影響があります。年齢とともに筋力が低下し、骨がもろくなっていくのです。多くの人は、これを老化の一部と勘違いしていますが、この老化を遅らせることは可能です。

筋肉や骨が弱くなると、転倒や骨折、「縮み」、一般的な物事ができなくなる等、さまざまな問題が起こります。体を動かすことは関節炎、骨粗しょう症、その他のリウマチのような病気にも効果があり、長生きもできるのです。単に長生きするだけでなく、より質の高い生活を保てます。

裏を返せば、座りっぱなしの生活は病気のリスクを高めるということ。体を動かせば得られるメリットはたくさんあります。では、なぜ多くの人がジムに通うことに抵抗があるのでしょうか。その答えは2つあります。

第一に、ジムに通うのは、実はかなりの労力が（お金も）必要なのです。服を着て、ジムバッグに荷物を詰める。行くには車を運転しなければいけないし、着替えも必要。

でも、一番難しいのは時間を見つけること。私たちは皆、忙しい人たちです。仕事、子育て、夫や妻としての仕事、家事、親の介護、疲労回復時間も必要…など。時間ができたら、リラックスして、正気を保つために楽しいことも必要です。わざわざエクササイズしに行く時間はない。早起きか遅く寝るかして少しでも時間を捻出することで、これらの壁を強引に乗り越えることはできるかもしれません。しかし、いったんモチベーションが切れてしまうと、ジムに通うのは難しくなります。

ジムでのワークアウトが単純に楽しめない人も中にはいます。ウェイトを持ち上げたり、動かしたり、置いたりするのは、正直言って少し退屈。また、他の人たちにも気後れしてしまいます。わりと多くの初心者はそういうことで不快になります。ジムの常連でいかにも健康そうで、重いウェイトを動かせる人と自分を比べてしまうと、自信やモチベーションがダウンします。

さらに、結果が出るまでに時間がかかるという問題もあります。目に見えない効果はすぐに発揮されますが、筋肉の成長など、体を鍛えたことによる身体の変化を実感できるまでには、かなりの時間がかかります。私たちの多くは、それほど忍耐力を持っていません。

もしあなたが上記の2つの理由でジムに通うことができないなら、残念ですが解決策はありません。あなたのライフスタイルに合わないし、楽しめませんから。

「運動」と「体を動かすこと」という2つの言葉は同じように使いますが、実は、この2つの言葉は少し違うものを指します。運動は通常、決められた動作を連続で行うものですが、体を動かすことは一般的に動くことです。たくさん「動く」だけなら、生活に溶け込みやすい。

忙しい人でも、体を動かす機会はたくさんあります。機会があるごとに動けばいいのです。いくつか例を挙げてみましょう。エレベーターやエスカレーターを使わず階段を使う。これは、集合住宅に住む場合や、通勤中、オフィス、ショッピングモールなど、階を降りたり昇ったりする必要がある場所ならどこでも可能です。

車は家に置いて（あるいは遠くに停めて）歩いてみましょう。買い物に行くとき、子供を迎えに行くとき、コーヒーを飲むとき、昼食をとるときなど、歩いて行ける距離であれば、どこでも可能です。

目標は1日30分歩くことです。個人的な例ですが、COVID導入前の通勤では、TTCの駅までと、TTCの駅から会社まで階段も含め歩いて約10～15分かかっていました。通勤と帰宅で、すでに推奨される1日の身体活動量の達成に近づいています。

ライフスタイルをアクティブにすることで少しずつ持久力をつけていく、あるいはアクティブに感じるために何らかの運動をすることに固執している人に、もう1つ提案があります。それは単純なもので「何か自分が楽しめることを見つける」ことです。ここで重要なのは、まず何でもやってみること。それが最初のステップです。運動は、あなたが好きな（あるいは大好きな）趣味でなければなりません。

可能性は無限にあるのに、なぜ1つの選択肢だけに絞るのでしょうか。無料で手軽にできることでは、例えば、トレイルウォーキングやハイキングはいかがでしょう。トロント市内や近郊にはたくさんのトレイルがあります。自然が苦手な人は、トロントの坂の多い通りを歩いてみてはどうでしょうか。家族でトロントの湖畔をサイクリング、冬はウィンタースポーツに挑戦。公園で子供と遊ぶだけでも。このように可能性は無限です。目標は、テレビを見るなど座りっぱなしの娯楽や趣味を、楽しめる運動に置き換えることです。

トロントでは、地元のコミュニティセンターで多くのドロップイン・プログラムが提供されています。スポーツ選手でなくても、スポーツを楽しむことはできます。繰り返しになりますが、大切なのは挑戦することです。

このテーマをもっと深く掘り下げたい方に、資料をいくつかご紹介します。カナダの『24時間ムーブメントガイド』や、CDCの『アメリカ人のための身体活動ガイドライン』は参考になります。

アクティブなライフスタイルは伝染します。あなたがアクティブな生活を送っていれば、配偶者、子供、両親、兄弟、友人にも影響を与えることができるのです。最後にとても大切なことを2つ。まず、動くためのあらゆる機会を見つけてください。車は使わず、エレベーターに乗らず、できるだけ座らないようにしましょう。

2つ目は、毎週でも毎月でも何か新しいことに挑戦して楽しいことを見つける、というのを目標に。好きな人と一緒にできるものが見つかれば更によい。一緒にアクティブなライフスタイルを実践し、楽しさも倍増します。

さて、話はこれくらいにして、さっそく椅子から立ち上がりましょう!