Why You Should Take On a Daily “Sweat Shel Mitzvah”

By Shmarya Richler – Montreal

Follow up to previous article, The Epidemic No One is Talking About

The Rambam says that it is incumbent upon us to do some sort of sweat-inducing exercise in the morning (Hilchos Deos 4:2). I like to call it: sweat shel Mitzvah.

Exercise is a must for everyone – whether you are focused on losing weight or not.

Exercise, and you will be more productive during the day. You will be less sleepy in the afternoon, your brain will be sharper, and after a long day at work, you’ll be less tired and grumpy. Also, you’ll sleep better at night.

People typically see exercise as a form of expense. “I don’t have time to spare” is one often heard excuse. We indeed lead hectic lives and have plenty of responsibilities. Yet if you track your day, you someone found time to schmooze in shul, linger in the aisles while shopping, and scroll through COLlive and social media more than once…

Most people have some semblance of being awake for 18 hours a day. That’s 1,080 minutes. I’m sure you can find 30 minutes somewhere in there.

The problem is that you are thinking about exercising the wrong way. Instead of seeing it as an expense – of time and money- you should treat it like an investment.

Exercise is an investment that pays back with interest (no Heter Iska is necessary!) The 30 minutes you spend exercising will be gained back during your day. Those 30 minutes of heart rate pumping in the morning will translate into one hour of time savings by being sharper and present. So, you’ve gained 30 minutes, not “lost” them.

Another excuse I often hear is, “I walk around all day at work, so that’s enough.” Moving around is important but certainly not enough. You have to get the heart rate up. Walking around at your job does not do that. It is better than nothing, but it’s not sufficient.

Now that we have gotten past the two most common reasons (excuses?) let’s talk about starting an exercise program. There are lots of options today. You can go it alone, with a friend, as part of a group or in a gym. And you could take up walking, running, biking or swimming.

Let’s focus on walking because it is probably the easiest and most accessible exercise. You have the option to use a treadmill at home or walk outside.

Here are some tips I shared from my experience:

1. Whatever you do, start slowly.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Get a pair of good walking shoes and start with a route of about 1 or 2 miles. To take Crown Heights as an example, a walk from Kingston and Eastern Parkway to halfway between Nostrand and Rogers is ½ mile. Walk until Washington Avenue and you’ve covered one mile.

2. Add value to the experience.

Make the exercise enjoyable by listening to music, a podcast, or a shiur. There are countless high-quality and inspiring things to listen to – most are free. If you do, I highly recommend you get headphones that are not noise-canceling. You need to hear your surroundings and it can be dangerous not to. I use Shokz bone conduction open-ear headphones. If you are using Apple AirPods, turn off the noise-canceling or only wear one, so the other ear is free. You could always walk with a relative or friend and have a conversation.

3. With time, pick up your pace.

In the beginning, you may need to slow down your walk at times. As you do it more often, you will see that you don’t need to slow down as often. And then, one day, you will be walking the whole distance at a fast pace. You could try using time as a motivator. Maybe once a week time your walk. See if you can improve your time the next week. Maybe at one point, you’ll want to add some running to the mix.

4. And then measure your time or distance.

Using a phone or an app (such as Strava or MapMyWalk), you can measure the time you walked and the distance. And then you can see if you can go further after a few days. Aim for about 150 minutes per week – clocking in a longer distance or time on a day off like on Sundays.

Not ready to commit to walking? here are some other options (Again, I stress that you need to do something that raises your heart rate, but these tips will keep you moving):

• Park your car a distance from the place you are going, so you walk there and back.

•  If you get to a building and need the fifth floor, take the stairs instead of an elevator. Or maybe take the elevator to the third or fourth floor and the stairs to the fifth.

• If you have a desk job, get up and walk around every so often. Or get a standing desk. I have one that I can raise and lower with the push of a button.

• If you travel by air, get up and walk up and down the concourse instead of sitting on your phone at the gate.

As a person who began this journey just 7 years ago, I can tell you that it’s possible. Do it for two weeks, and you will start noticing a difference. The hardest part is starting but once you do, it will become routine and possibly even look forward to.

Feel free to write to me if you have any questions at health@richler.org