As we get older it is natural to sometimes think about our health and wonder if we will become a victim of some dreaded disease or illness somewhere down the track. This implies that somehow it is a matter of luck or rather bad luck if we become a victim. We hear and see people we know becoming sick and even dieing and wonder if this could happen to us.

In the past we did not know or believe that we could do anything to influence our health other than being sensible about how we eat and avoiding harmful habits. We now know that there is a lot more than we can and should be doing to help us avoid disease and get the most quality out of our life.

It would be easy to say "If only I had of known" when it is too late and something happens to threaten our health and our ability to live our life in the way we wish. But maybe we should take some responsibility to educate ourselves and learn new skills so that some of the fear can be removed.

One of the biggest threats to us humans is the lack of natural activity in our modern day lives. We do not need to exert ourselves as we once did to find food, shelter and warmth. Our ancestors would have had to work very hard on a daily basis just to find these things and survive. Our body is still programmed to be able to do very vigorous activity as our genes have not yet adapted to our easy, work free, technology driven lifestyles.

Without this physical "work" there is no way for our body to send the chemical messengers (the hormones) to instruct every single cell in every tissue and organ in our body to stay strong and healthy so that we may have the strength and energy to hunt and find food etc to survive.

What this means is that we now have a problem called modern chronic disease which effects us to the extent that one out of every two people on the planet have a disease or condition and many have multiple chronic conditions. Many more people are feeling well below par, tired, no energy, unmotivated, not sick but not well either. And many more, at least 60% of us are overweight or obese.

There is such a simple solution to all of this it is hard to understand why such intelligent beings would be in such denial about replacing this lack of activity with artificial "work" to allow our bodies to say healthy and well. There is no way that we can remain disease free and not become overweight without using our muscles on a regular basis no matter what we may want to believe.

Unless you do a manual labor type job you simply must perform a proper exercise program two to three times per week for your whole lifespan. Somehow you have to change your mindset to understand and accept this. This is an easier option than risking having your life cut short by some premature and preventable disease or illness. Isn't it?

Modern exercise programs take into account that everybody is very busy and a proper program contains strength training exercise to work the muscles and the bones they are attached too quickly and efficiently. You should seek the guidance of a fitness professional so you can learn correct exercise technique along with the correct intensity that you need to perform the exercises with.

Along with a better chance of avoiding disease will be rewarded with dozens of very positive benefits as opposed to dozens of negative problems that a lack of exercise will bring you both immediately and long term.

Make up your mind that you are going to protect your health and future well-being by taking a proactive role. Your proper exercise program will play a central part in this along with a common sense approach to your diet which should be based on natural whole foods with minimal processing.

Instead of saying "I wish I had known" you can now say "I am doing all I can to protect myself so I can live my life to the fullest."