Adult Homework: Physical Fitness

By Ace A, brown belt

Physical fitness is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Movement and exercise improve your health and help you lose weight or maintain your current weight. Often overlooked although are the benefits to your mental and phycological wellbeing. Physical exercise greatly increases levels of dopamine in your brain making you feel happier and more content.

By exercising more often we counteract the effects of modern life where all of us spend hours and hours a day sitting and not moving or only moving our fingers at a computer. Simple daily movement, even just standing up and walking around for a few minutes every hour can help maintain your positive attitude and mental acuity but more often than not can give you that small break you need to solve a difficult problem or o help you focus better on the task at hand. More vigorous exercise, even if it is only twice a week, will increase your metabolism allowing for better overall health and maintenance of your body.

Mentally, the release of adrenalin and dopamine during exercise will make you feel better and think more clearly. It will also provide a better sense of self and better opinion of yourself. All this added to the way exercise help us sleep better every night keeps us from feeling depressed, closed off or alone.  The better you feel on the inside the you want to do on the outside and the more often you want to exercise or simply just move around. The people in life that turn to drugs and alcohol or have a deep feelings of depression or anxiety are more often the people whose physical activity is minimal and are looking for something in life to help the feel better. The simplest answer is exercise and activity.

Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo and martial arts and the variety of movement offered during a single class not only gets us asleep better but will get you out of bed in the morning excited for a new day and for the opportunities to learn, to grow, to push yourself and to feel better about life.  It is the act of repetition of movement and the drive to excel and to succeed in class that will translate into a more focused mind and a more healthy body.