Pretty Human: Running all around town

Every New Year's day, there's one resolution that's on nearly everyone's list: to get in better shape in the coming year. For millions upon millions of people, the idea of "getting in better shape" is immediately linked to "join a health club", a notion that the health clubs themselves certainly promote through non-stop advertisements and big discounts.

How can clubs afford all of this advertising and these discounts? You know the answer: of those millions who sign up at the turn of the year, very few will even make it to February. Most of these gym "dropouts" will scold themselves for lack of willpower, but the truth is, gyms often set us up for failure.

Health and fitness aren't meant to be something you do, something you try to find an extra hour for every day after you pull on your gym clothes, hop in the car and drive for twenty minutes, search for a parking spot, and fight for the good treadmill. Health and fitness are meant to be something you live, a natural, integrated part of your life. They should blend in, not be center of attention. Sounds nice, but how do you actually do it?

One simple way is to actually run your errands. You heard me right: run 'em. Instead of hopping in your car to drive to the grocery store that's a quarter-mile away, for example, put on some comfortable shoes and trot on over. Don't wear Lycra (unless you want to) and don't strain -- this isn't a race. If running's difficult, you can briskly walk instread. Just enjoy the process of getting somewhere under your own steam, of truly pulling your own weight.

Not only will you get the benefit of running, but you'll also get a lot of great side benefits. You'll get fresh air, you'll get to see your town in a different way, on a more human scale, and you'll feel much more awake and aware than you would running on a treadmill in a sterile gym, going nowhere, spacing out to the ubiquitous muted televisions. You'll have bragging rights to the rest of your family, too: I hauled this food home myself. Beat that!

You might argue that there are no stores near you, so you have to drive. If that's the case, the stores you frequent are probably located near each other, in a shopping zone. What you can do in that situation is to park at the first store, and then run to the others. Look for ways to succeed. They're all around you.

So, skip the gym this year. Lace up your sneakers instead, and take your town by storm.

Pretty Human

Ideas, activities, and objects that reinforce our humanity

Running all around town

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