One of my favorite coaches, Tony Dungy, has a mantra: “No Excuses, No Explanations.” He even kept a sign of these words in his office as a visual reminder of his philosophy. If a player or another coach started in on why something wasn’t going the way it should, Tony would just cut him off and point to the sign. Tony wanted the focus to be on solutions, not obstacles. The following, our second “Share Your Wellness Story” offering, could be filed under “No Excuses, No Explanations.” Coach Dungy would be proud. —NA
Many years ago when I decided to become a counselor, I had no idea how my life would change simply because I would sit in a chair for 8–10 hours a day. I have always been an active person, so the change to inactivity was too much. I felt my stress level increase proportionately to my waist size.
So I thought about ways to increase activity level in my day. The easiest change was to increase the days I commuted to work on my bike. That helped a lot. Then winter hit and my activity level decreased. So I did a bit of research and made my bike winter ready. Since that time some 25 years ago, I’ve been commuting on bike year round. In fact, I just put my studded tire on my bike today. My commute is a little over 12 miles each day, which is about a half hour one way, a little more when there’s snow or when it is cold (single digits or less).
One other thing I was able to do because I work at a University where the gym is a quarter-mile away from my office, is workout over the lunch hour. I love to play games and UM has racquetball and squash courts. So I play at least three times a week, and then lift weights or do aerobic machines the other days. They do have a wonderful sauna, so there are the days (especially when it is cold) that I relax there. It certainly keeps the stress level manageable.
So, sitting for so many hours isn’t so difficult because I get good exercise three times each day.
Mike F., UM Missoula
For more info on the dangers of prolonged sitting, check these webinars from MUS Wellness:
Montana Moves 