HEALTH Is Spelled W.O.R.K.

“Health is spelled w.o.r.k.”: I came across this witty little epitaph while reading an interview with Canadian personal trainer and fitness personality Sylvain Cyr.

And honestly, how true it is.

In the world we currently inhabit, being healthy and fit is increasingly harder than it has been in the past. Despite concerted efforts by the government and special interest groups to improve our population’s health, we are constantly presented with opportunities to eat poorly, move less, and pollute our bodies with substances like tobacco, alcohol, drugs and OTC meds.

So, to truly have “health” these days, we really have to WORK for it.

Achieving health means going out of your way to move more during daily routines, like walking to work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It means hitting the gym or the pavement at least 3 times a week to maintain and improve cardiovascular fitness. It means choosing the salmon salad over the burger and fries, and passing on sugary dessert more often than not. It also means remaining in a state of “homeostasis” 95% or more of the time—i.e. saying no to that 3rd glass of wine, nixing your nicotine habit, and, quite obviously, refraining from the hardcore stuff.

As you can see, following the above healthy living protocol isn’t always easy. Sadly, being healthy today just isn’t very easy; most of us sit at desks all day, move too little and eat too much. But instead of surrendering to the latter unhealthy “norm,” perhaps we should instead surrender to the reality that, for people living in today’s world, health truly is spelled W.O.R.K.

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