Physical health issues significantly increase our risk of developing mental health problems, and vice versa. Nearly one in three people with a long-term physical health condition also has a mental health problem, most often depression or anxiety. Physical health and mental health go hand in hand.
Many times people who suffer from mental health issues will witness physical problems as well.

Often people with stressful jobs also have poor physical health.
It is certainly no coincidence. If you don’t take care of your body it will sooner or later affect your mental health as well.
In the workplace it’s certainly very interesting to see the difference between fit individuals who take care of their body and the once who are sitting around all day.

The problem is that stressful jobs often go hand in hand with long working hours. That hinders many of us to take care of our bodies.

Sooner or later you’ll have to pay the price for that though.

Become fit

Taking care of your body and working out regularly will not only improve your physical health.
It has much more benefits.

1. Boosts performance
2. Improves sleep
3. Increases confidence
4. Improves stress resistance
5. Better physical appearance
6. Increases life span

Those are only some of the benefits that working out will do for you.

Working out will improve the way you look and if you do it right, it will also make sure that your body is bulletproof to common problems like back pain, heart issues and obesity.

The common excuse is a lack of time. To be honest that is a very weak excuse. It doesn’t take three hours of working out each day to become fit and healthy.
According to Dr. Peter Attia working out is the single most important thing when it comes to increasing your lifespan. “Longevity, both through lifespan and health span, is impacted more through exercise than any other variable we have.”

Here is the optimal exercise protocol for busy people.

The ideal exercise protocol

1. Strength training

2. Low intensity cardio

3. HIIT

4. Mobility
   

Strength training:
Strength training such as weight lifting or bodyweight training will increase muscular strength, endurance and bone density. It will improve your range of motion and decrease your risk of injury dramatically.
Older people who never stop working out are far less likely to fall and hurt themselves. Simply put, muscles will make you stronger and more healthy.
If you lack time I’d recommend a full body regime twice a week, that focuses on the foundations. It’s a misbelieve that men and women should train differently. Focus on exercises like:
-Deadlift
-Squats
-Overhead press
-Push ups, dips or bench press
-Pull ups or chin ups

Focus on these exercises and try to do 3 sets of 5-15 repetitions. If you can manage to get stronger over time you will build muscle. (Add repetitions or add weight)
Lifting weights is no rocket science. It’s about consistency and hard work.
Do a full body plan twice per week for 45 minutes to one hour max.
That’s all it takes.

Cardio:
In my opinion the best form of cardio is walking.
It’s not necessary to run fast. Pick a speed that allows you to have a conversation. Personally, I go on a walk each day for 30-60 minutes. On the weekends I try to walk for 60-90 minutes at least.
After a hard day at work that is the best cure for me to calm down and forget about everything that bothered me.
Walking will also increase cardiovascular fitness and pulmonary fitness. (heart and lunges)

HIIT:
HIIT or high intensity interval training is by far the most intense. The good news is, you only have to do it for 10-20 minutes each week.
When you’re doing HIIT, you will work out with a heart rate of 85-100% of your maximum for a short period of time.
What that will do is improve your VO2max.
Your VO2max refers to the maximum heart rate at which your muscles can extract oxygen from your blood and put it to metabolic use to generate energy.

“When looking at VO2 max in relation to all cause mortality, we see a very clear trend. Simply bringing your VO2max in from low to below average is associated with a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality. When you go from low to above average the risk reduction is closer to 70%.” - Dr. Peter Attia.
Those are truly crazy numbers and to be honest I was shocked when I first read about them.
Here is how you can do a HIIT workout.
Pick something that is very hard to do and that allows you to give 100% for a short period of time.
Airbike, hill sprints, sprints and boxing are by far the best in my opinion.
Give 100% of your effort for 20 seconds and rest completely for 40 seconds.
Do that for 6-8 rounds and you’re done. Make sure to warm up before doing that.
10-20 minutes once per week is enough to reap the benefits.
Even though it’s not a long time it’s by far the hardest workout you can do.


Mobility:
I don’t like doing mobility work at all. Once I’m done, I feel great though.
Mobility work like stretching or Yoga will improve your flexibility, reduce injuries and improve your range of motion.
Yoga is superior to stretching because it will also improve your balance.
Once per week for 30-60 minutes is enough to feel the benefit.
If you don’t want to join a Yoga class, just buy a mat and watch some videos on YouTube. The internet is full of great Yoga instructor that have content for beginners as well as advanced individuals.
I recommend the following trainers. (Mady Morrison, Breathe and flow, Yoga with Adrienne)

In conclusion

Working out will not only improve the way you look. It will also improve performance and boost your mental health. Working out should not be neglected, no matter how stressful your life is.
If you don’t take care of your body you’ll not only feel bad, you’ll also more likely to pass away earlier.
If you want to learn more about each thing in detail I recommend Dr. Pete Attia.
He is the lead expert when it comes to longevity.

Not working out and neglecting your body is the one of the dumbest things you can do.
You don’t have to start with everything at once but make sure to start with something and see how you feel.

Feel free to thank me later.

Thank you for reading.