Preventive Maintenance

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today, using an analogy, I would like to remind you of the importance of taking care of your health.  I’m a car guy, and I often tell my students and clients that taking care of your health is similar to taking care of a car.  In order to keep it running properly, you need to keep up with preventive maintenance.  It is a common simile that the body can be compared to a “well oiled machine”, and if you want to keep that machine running well for a long time, you need to care for it.  If you don’t treat the machine well, it will eventually break down.  Comparing our body to a car is a logical comparison, treat your body well and you will be healthy for a long time; but as with a car, if you do not keep up with the regular maintenance, it will break down and be in the shop for a long time.

My first car was a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass.  It was near 30 years old when I owned it.  Being an older car, it needed more than just the regular TLC, but as a high school student, I didn’t have the funds, or responsibility, to keep up with everything it needed.  Although it was the type of car that I wished I still had today as it was a “classic”, not keeping up with it I often had it in the shop for repairs.  I didn’t keep up with regular oil changes or other maintenance and that would lead to the car not running right and or in the shop needing repairs.  I often think about how I would have cared for the car differently if I had owned it now with both having a good salary and knowledge about what actually needs to be done to keep a car running.  It is one of those “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” situations.  If I knew then what I know now, I would still have a sexy muscle car on the road.  Using this as an analogy, in order for you to keep your body in great condition, you need to take care of it before it ends up in the shop.

Your body should be treated as the well oiled machine.  Your heart is like the car’s engine, and in order to keep running well, it needs to be not only treated well, but regularly maintained.  Just as a car will stay on the road for longer if you keep up with the regular oil changes, so too will your body if you do what needs to be done before there is a problem.  The key is to keep up with the preventive maintenance.  Just like changing the brake pads at regular intervals will help you avoid much more expensive repairs down the road, exercising regularly will help you prevent more significant disease in the future.

The comparison can even be carried over to what you put into your body.  For example, some cars require that you use premium gasoline; if you use a lower grade not only will the engine run poorly, but gunk will build up in the engine valves.  Similarly, if you make unhealthy food choices, not only will you feel sluggish, but cholesterol levels can rise and plaque can build up in your blood vessels.  The higher the quality gas you use, the better your car will run, and the healthier your food choices are, the fitter you will be. 

Preventive maintenance is crucial to keeping your car running right and out of the shop needing expensive repairs.  So too is it important for you to do the same type of prevention to keep your health level up.  Maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly will keep you feeling good and prevent disease in the long term.  Waiting until there is a problem with your health to start taking care of it is often more than financially costly.  Keeping on top of your fitness is the healthier way to maintaining a fit new you.