Last December, I decided to visit my tailor, Oga Ben, to sow some Christmas clothes for me. He brought out his measuring tape and started his measurement from my waist. After the measurement, he gawks at me unpleasantly. I became visibly uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me. So, I asked him what the problem was, He exclaimed “Hmmm!”, shook his head and jocularly retorted in Pigin English “Oga, wetin you the chop where you gather weight like this?” he concluded with “two yards of materials no go reach you again ooo” Then I realized that the daily two bottles beer I gorge and the frequent late-night meals, the recurrent Lagos traffic-congestion induced junk food like buns, small chops, etc., the never-ending zoom meetings, my overindulgence and preference for social media over sleep, my lengthy screen time, etc. had caused my weight to accumulate tragically and my blood pressure to surge just like a danfo bus is ascending the Lagos Third Mainland Bridge. When I left Oga Ben’s shop, I knew I needed to do something to recoup my health. Immediately, I reached out to my buddy whom exercise has become the integral part of his daily life; he told me to join him by the weekend for the weekly 5Km “Owambe free walkout” organized by JunTiSport and I accepted wholeheartedly.
How I started to move
Before the weekend, I had procured all the required kits and I was among the first to arrive at the venue. I was very excited when we started, but 45 minutes into the event, my heart started panting heavily and I started wheezing like a generator whose fuel is about to finish. After that day, I started walking out consistently, I fixed my malfunctioning treadmill for indoor movement, and pushup more and more, etc. and this really paid off positively. Without sounding presumptuous, I became wholly active and healthy again in the space of two months.
Persuasive reasons why we must move
We all must strike a balance between hustling and sedentary lifestyles. We must create time for exercise, as sedentary lifestyle nowadays kills volumes of Nigeria than malaria (WHO) Source. WHO have attributed physical inactivity to the leading cause of disability and diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety, etc. That notwithstanding, 60 to 85% of people in the world either in developed or developing countries are living a sedentary lifestyle, making it one of the more serious yet insufficiently addressed public health problems of our time.
Like I said, we Nigerian must create time to move, as movement is ingrained to our DNA. Could you recapture how our grandmothers used to carry firewood from the farm and water from the stream on their heads, how Lagos Agbero loading buses will dance for small tips, and how our children used to play “ten-ten”? Nowadays, we are substituting agbada steps for executive chairs in our offices and exchanging Buka runs for taxified deliveries
Let's move in our unique way
If You cannot run around town, you can take out 30 minutes to dance to afro-beats of choice to reduce big belle, walk briskly around your neighborhood during power outage to wade-off high blood pressure, squash stress with aso-ebi dance during wedding ceremonies, etc. Furthermore, if you don’t want to go to the gym, carry a sachet of pure water up and down for about 40 to 50 times, join peaceful protest to burn out some fat, use wheelbarrow or truck to fetch water, etc. I want my brother @depressedfuckup and all @hive to checkout this post.