I am in my mid-20s and honestly, sometimes I still feel like I have plenty of time to start taking certain things seriously... Exercise is one of them.
When you are young, it is very easy to think your body will always cooperate with you. You can sleep late, wake up tired, skip breakfast, sit for hours scrolling through your phone, eat whatever you want, and somehow still expect your body to keep working perfectly... At least, that is how I used to think about it... There is this idea that exercise is something we become serious about when we get older, start gaining weight, or suddenly develop a health problem. Before then, we just enjoy being young but I don't really agree with that anymore.
I don't think there is a specific age for exercising... You can start at any age, and I think the earlier we understand that movement is part of taking care of ourselves, the better because for someone in their 20s, exercise may not necessarily mean spending two hours in the gym every day. It could simply mean being more active. Walking more. Dancing. Going for a run. Hiking. Stretching in the morning. Playing a sport. Doing a home workout when you have the time.
Even though I am still young, I have started realizing that being young is not a reason to neglect my body... Actually, it is probably the best time to develop good habits.
I enjoy taking walks and I have come to appreciate it for more than just the physical help... There is something about walking for a long time, makes me aware of my body...
Social media has also made exercise complicated. We see people with perfect bodies, expensive gym outfits, strict diets and intense workout routines and suddenly we feel like we are doing something wrong but everybody's body is different but I don't need to look like a fitness influencer to be healthy... I don't need to run ten kilometres just because somebody else can... I just need to find something that works for me and actually stick with it.
I also don't think exercise should be punishment... We shouldn't exercise because we hate our bodies, We shouldn't feel guilty because we ate a piece of cake, We shouldn't spend an hour working out simply because we think we need to "burn off" something we ate... Our bodies deserve better than that.
For me, exercise is more about appreciation than punishment.. I want to be able to move freely. I want to have energy. I want to stay strong. I want to grow older without feeling like I completely neglected myself when I was younger and I know that life can get busy.
I also believe exercise should change as we grow older. What works for someone in their 20s might not be suitable for someone in their 60s, and that is completely okay. The goal is not to exercise the same way forever. The goal is to keep moving in whatever way is healthy and appropriate for your body.
So, do I think there is a specific age for exercising?.. No, I think there is a specific age for everything except taking care of yourself and that starts now.
Not when I turn 30, Not when I gain weight, Not when a doctor tells me I need to become more active, Now... Because being young is not a guarantee that we will always be healthy... It is an opportunity to build habits that our future selves will hopefully thank us for and if my future self can still hike, dance, walk long distances, climb stairs without struggling, and enjoy life with a healthy body, I think that would be a pretty good reward for the little effort I make today.
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