The Necessity of Exercise

I don’t have time, Father tells me, adding, there are many responsibilities to attend.  I am asking a Father I know, how is he doing, does he have time for exercise, and get this response, a few days ago.

I am kind of dismayed by this response.  Our Shepherds are precious to us, and there are up against many challenges in this world as they do His work tirelessly, they can get physically, mentally and emotionally drained.

Besides all the work they need to do for their Mission, their personal prayer and daily Mass, they need to keep some time for physical exercise too.  It is much like the safety message one hears on boarding an airplane, in case of an emergency, put the safety mask first on yourself, before helping others.

By the way, this applies to laity too.

I was extremely happy to note that Pope Leo the fourteenth is showing a good example to us of the importance of regular physical exercise. In the media reports we read of the Holy Father regularly working out at the gym before the conclave, three to four times a week, with a mix of cardio and weights.  The Holy Father is also known to enjoy a game of tennis, now and then.  All this gives the Holy Father, an athletic posture capable of taking on the physical strain of leading the Catholic Church from the front, along with his spiritual and mental faculties.

At the recent Jubilee of Sports, the Holy Father says on Sport,

The time you spend together in these days will offer you a valuable opportunity to think about the relationship between athletic activity and the virtue of hope. When we think of it, sports are animated by hope, in the sense that they involve striving towards a goal, constantly trying to improve our performance and learning to work with others as a team. At the same time, our deepest hopes challenge us to make the world of sports an arena where authentically human and Christian values can be exercised and communicated to others for the building of a better world.

These are wonderful words to be treasured and reflected upon.

The other athletic Pope , who had a keen interest in skiing, St Pope John Paul II in the Jubilee of Sport Year 2000 address mentions, “the logic of sport, especially Olympic sports; it is also the logic of life:  without sacrifices, important results are not obtained, or even genuine satisfaction.

Once again the Apostle Paul has reminded us of this:  “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Cor 9: 25). Every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ, that is, a faithful and courageous witness to his Gospel. But to succeed in this, he must persevere in prayer, be trained in virtue and follow the divine Master in everything.

He, in fact, is God’s true athlete:  Christ is the “more powerful” Man (cf. Mk 1: 7), who for our sake confronted and defeated the “opponent”, Satan, by the power of the Holy Spirit, thus inaugurating the kingdom of God. He teaches us that, to enter into glory, we must undergo suffering (cf. Lk 24: 26,46); he has gone before us on this path, so that we might follow in his footsteps.”

We can certainly learn a lot from sport and exercise on how to face the challenges of life.

The words of athletic mountaineer Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, due to be canonised on September 7, 2025, resonate,” The higher we go, the better we shall hear the Voice of Christ.”

I revisit these words of mine penned during the lockdown:

‘I have used this period of pandemic to keep fit by walking and running every day, early morning, around 530am,  just after the Curfew time ends.  I have found this is the best time that one can step out- masked of course –  and maintain social distance with other fellow walkers/joggers and also a peaceful time .  I wanted to share some learnings here, that I penned during the lockdown:

These days of lockdown have caused me to lose — weight. To be precise 8 kg so far. How has this been possible? Just by a few lifestyle changes necessitated by the Lockdown, that

I share here below:

Moving more: As paradoxical as it sounds, I have been moving more since the lockdown. Moving as in actually getting on my feet and running ( or walking) to get essentials . The earlier state of mine was to ask my driver to procure anything I needed or to go by car. With the police

prohibiting cars movement in general , it was just easier to walk/run everywhere.

Lifting More: The almost similar effect of lifting weights in a gym can be felt in carrying the bags of supplies back home! With the added paraphernalia of a mask, one seems to exert more with every step, and sometimes my glasses would get completely fogged up too.

Eating Less: Lockdown also meant eating less junk, and only home cooked food. And whatever is cooked at home is made from ingredients procured by us and made by us during this entire time.

Drinking Less: My earlier lifestyle pre-lockdown revolved around endless cups of coffee in the office and during meetings. Often accompanied by afternoon snacks. Now this is cut down to a single cup of coffee at the begging of the day.

Stressing Less: The very aspect of not having to commute to and from work, brought down stress levels. A factor that was a trigger in my eating more pre Lockdown days.

All these things put together is what helped me to lose 8 kg during this lockdown. I hope to keep up most , if not all , of these practices even when lockdown gets lifted as I feel much fresher, more energetic and alert than before. For example, I can take food from home to work, continue to move more, and stress less.

I am certainly glad that I lost ( weight) during lockdown!

PS: As lockdown lifted, and the economy got unlocked , those of us like me who could not WFH in their professions, have started a more or less regular work routine.  I have maintained the practise of getting in my morning walk/run/walk routine before the work day starts, and taking food only from home ( my lunch is packed by my better half) .  This helps me get in a minimum of 10K steps before the day begins and I can add on to this during the day.  Most of the practises above I have continued to follow , though sometimes I feel that my daily coffee consumption is more than it should be!  My weight loss is now 10kg down from the pre lockdown levels and I feel good at the end of each workout session, ready to face on the day.  I also needed to get some new clothes that were better fitting, and these were selected by my family members!

The Biblical Verse 1 Corinthians  6: 19 tells us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  We need to take care of our body, given to us by God, everyday.  It is our responsibility .  Thirty minutes of exercise is necessary for to keep one in good health.  Pick whatever activity you can do ( during the current circumstances, walking, running, cycling and some Club sports activities like Golf, Tennis and badminton are permitted).  Whatever you have access to, and whatever time you are able to spare, please do exercise out in the open air preferably  and this will help you build up your physical immunity which is necessary. Happy Exercising and God Bless!’

Five years after the lockdown, most of my lost weight is regained. I am following the precepts of daily exercise though, and I need this along with my daily Mass to get through the day.

Writing this article reminds me to be a bit more rigorous about this exercise.  The key is moderation in all things and in balance.  Just as our Holy Father Pope Leo the fourteenth shows us by example.

Help me Lord.