Connect exercise and fun by learning good habits.

Connect Exercise and FunChildren Develop Important Skills

Weekly walks at McKay Lake lake connect exercise and fun! They bring so many smiles and feelings of accomplishment, while tapping into the neural pathways that connect exercise with fun! Better yet, the children, that routinely join our walks, benefit by learning the value of health, understanding the importance of self-care and how routines increase your chances of making exercise a habit.

Food and Drink as the Reward?

However, many community-based physical activities are often promoted by rewarding the participants with food or alcohol beverages. Keep in mind, engaging in the “occasional” fun activity that promotes celebration by offering food and drinks, can be quite fun. Many 5K races, obstacle courses and challenging events will end with a big food/drink celebration.

Nevertheless, when you engage in a “regularly” scheduled physical activity, such as LightenUp’s weekly walking or running at McKay lake, food and alcohol beverages are not recommended by any health professionals. One of the goals of regular exercise is to help your brain connect with the rewards system. When you exercise, your brain chemistry actually changes in ways that allows your brain to associate a given experience with pleasure. In other words, when you exercise, you want to teach your brain to connect “exercise” as fun, pleasurable and rewarding, without the need of food or alcohol. Motivating yourself with food or alcoholic beverage at the end of your physical activity, can be a dangerous habit and routine to learn, not only for you but for your little ones watching.

Join our weekly walks, every Friday at 7:45am or 9:15am. Bring your friends, family and neighbors. Most of all, learn to connect exercise and fun by accepting that managing your health is a challenge, one determined by the choices that you make daily. Learning the right habits will not only help you but your entire family.