The Difficult Habit of Exercising. By Dante A. Musquis Beltrin. Due to my naturally hyperactive childhood condition, and given that there was neither a clinical definition nor a cure at the time, my parents enrolled me, supposedly to channel my energy into more positive things, in exercise sessions led by Zovec, the escape artist who died prematurely when he opened his mouth while hanging from a helicopter, suspended only by his teeth. The sessions were on Saturdays, and the strongman would assign us 100 push-ups and 100 squats a day for the week. That was my introduction to the sport that, to this day, remains a habit. At that time, I didn't know that practically all children naturally generate movement. Sudden and explosive, intense and lasting. We don't call it exercise yet because it doesn't have a method or an end in itself. We moved because we wanted to and sought to know how much and to what extent we could. Movement generates learning and body awareness, as well as lateralization, segmentation, and recognition of the first levels of strength, elasticity, flexibility, and endurance. Furthermore, it is an excellent ally in intellectual, emotional, and social development. Its usefulness should be reason enough to make it our constant companion. However, we understand that school or work activities demand concentration and additional time to focus on learning, expanding, and reinforcing the skills necessary for these tasks. If we add the significant stress involved in some subjects, the new environment, new responsibilities, and also the unfamiliar interactions with colleagues and supervisors, we have enough factors, or at least distractions, to cause exercise to fall by the wayside. The enormous difficulty in maintaining a consistent exercise routine stems from a shift in priorities that occurs throughout the various stages of life. Currently, many of my friends react to the phrase exercise with a certain degree of avoidance and often with a repeated refusal to begin an activity they perceive as intense, prolonged, and exhausting, which, obviously, will leave them out of commission for the duration of their recovery. The vicious cycle continues. Their daily routine is exhausting, and adding exercise would only tire them out and take up more sleep time needed for recovery, time they simply don't have. However, we suggest you begin joint mobility exercises almost immediately upon waking, continuing until you reach the goal of the first 20 days. Your physical, intellectual, and emotional performance will improve substantially. You will be better able to handle the workload, experience less fatigue, and require less sleep. Then the cycle will begin. Exercise provides energy to face the day, and the time saved on rest can be reinvested in routines that maintain and improve your fitness and daily performance. These movements are primarily intended to release tension and promote muscle flexibility without compromising heart rate. They activate all joints and muscles with smooth movements down up, open, close, flex, extend, rotate, from the fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, waist, pelvis, knees, ankles, and even the toes in eight repetitions per movement. This complete sequence, also known as a set, will take a maximum of 20 minutes daily for the first three weeks for now, without a rest day. As you increase the number of repetitions, no more than 16 per movement, and the number of sets, no more than 3 per joint, you may find that the entire routine no longer requires much effort. At this point, it's time to add some weight to the same movements, you can start with 1, 1.5, or up to a maximum of 2 kilograms, to strengthen and perhaps slightly increase muscle mass, gaining more strength and physical endurance. Here are some practical examples. Feel free to send me a WhatsApp message, and I'll share the link with you as soon as possible. It's important to accompany this routine with slow, steady breathing between movements, and a few deep breaths between sets so your body receives the necessary oxygen. Finally, the recovery time shouldn't exceed 10 minutes to ensure you're not over-exerting yourself. These exercises require no equipment and can accompany us throughout our lives. Whether you prefer swimming, running, cycling, skating, climbing, or strength training, fitness or crossfit. Playing basketball, soccer, baseball, or volleyball, practicing yoga, zumba, tai chi dance, or ballroom dancing, joint movements will always be present at the beginning of each workout. They represent the foundation for training that involves greater intensity and duration under the guidance of specialist coaches and trainers. They can also be used during recovery periods after relative or absolute rest, or for rehabilitation from physical injury by performing the movements in a segmented way. Different repetitions and loads for the injured and uninjured parts of the body. Finally, while exercise is a recurring activity, there will be days when the body needs longer rest periods. It's not necessary to exercise 24-7, 365 days a year. The usual and practical approach is to have several days of exercise and one or two days of rest. Another option is to have some days where the repetitions and intensity only allow you to maintain your usual agility and mobility. We never know when we'll need a boost of energy or, even worse, our full potential to face a situation. That's why the greatest benefit of exercise is that, when needed, the body will respond with good performance, and the point of fatigue or breakdown will be further away than for those with a sedentary lifestyle. If you've already established an exercise habit, you know the benefits and might even want to share this article with your friends. If not, how about trying these joint movements for 20 days?