Sports participation can lead to healthy lifestyle

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 10, 2007

It’s the time of the year where the entire country has begun to toss around resolution after resolution. I don’t think it’s such a bad idea as long as it gets you going on some of life’s priorities. The myth about resolutions is that they are short lived. Could it be that resolutions are excuses for not setting a goal or are they just short-term goals? I’ve been guilty of both in the past.

The one resolution or goal that is most common has to do with health. It is a rather important area in anyone’s life. It has been said over and over again, you don’t have anything if you don’t have your health.

What does good health mean? Is it to lose weight? Is it to stop smoking or drinking? Is it to just stay in shape? Is it even a priority to you?

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I don’t think health is something you concentrate on for just the first month or to of every year. You may say that your priorities may change after a couple of months. Our concern for our health has to become a lifestyle in order for it to have value or some positive results.

Let’s put good health at the top of our list of resolutions, goals, or priorities for 2007.

There are many, many ways we can add or create a healthy lifestyle to our &8216;busy’ schedules. It starts with making a plan and then working it. The most common route to a healthy lifestyle has always been watching what we eat. Now that is a good start, but let’s be real, we are in the south and I’ve come to know that southern folks eat pretty good, myself included. I guess we still can watch what we eat.

Another common route is exercising. This automatically goes with the watch what we eat notion. Unless you’re fortunate enough that your normal day contains exercising, you must find away to fit it into your daily &8216;schedule.’ This is where the health clubs make their money. I’m not taking anything away from health clubs, because they are a necessity in this day and age. The health gyms have become a part of the resolution hype. If part of your weekly schedule includes going to the gym or health club, my hat’s off to you. A lot of us need to catch up.

I believe that participating in some kind of sport is a wonderful way to stay healthy and have fun at the same time. The catch is that it has to be part of a regular routine. None of us are too old or too young to actively participate in a sport or sports of our choice. They all are included. Let’s commit ourselves to doing something and doing it on a regular basis.

My plan for this year is to dust off the spider webs that have been accumulating for over three years on my golf clubs. I also enjoy tennis. I still have some basketball skills if I want to pump up my heart rate. I can still hit a baseball, so I will seek a 50

and over league somewhere (yep I’m 50 and over). Are there any &8216;touch’ football leagues around? I hope I didn’t just lose my young readers. I will do some fishing, which I have yet to do since moving south. I haven’t found a bowling alley yet, and if you know of one not so far away, please let me know. All of this is just part of the fun of living life.

Well, it’s still basketball season, so I’ll see you on the hardwood.