HEALTHY LIVING 2008 -- 20s: Staying healthy in your 20s

For me, staying healthy in my 20s is easy.

My obsession with Ironman triathlons helps me to do that. I have learned that the body is capable of many things while swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles.

What amazes me about the body though is how much weight it can put on. Most people know they are overweight but do nothing about it. Since we are so young we can stop the crisis before it starts.

Working out is a good time to reflect on your day and your life. Always take time for your health and give it priority. Making time to work out is easy. If you treat working out as something that you have to do every day you will make the time for it.

Being so young, the most important thing to remember in your 20s is patience. Seeing improvements from working out takes time but eventually it comes. Too many people in their 20s want everything right away or they give up on it. Just because you are young does not mean you are invincible (although you may think that sometimes). There is a reason that the older generations are heavier: you don’t wake up fat one day. Everything slowly happens over the years.

At this age too many people are just focused on their careers and not themselves. A good retirement fund is nothing if you don’t have a good retirement body. I know that since I have started working out seriously I have made some of the best friends of my life and met some very inspirational people. You only get one body in life, so treat it right.

Oh, and the runner’s high is real, and it is sweet.