Health and Fitness Archive

Health and Fitness for LDS Missionaries

Proper dietary habits combined with regular exercise will dramatically improve your ability to prepare your body and spirit in the quickest way possible before leaving on your LDS mission. Physical health and fitness is vitally important while on a mission because of the irregular living conditions and the aggressive daily schedule that LDS missionaries follow each and everyday of their two-year service.The human body functions properly and optimally when it’s exposed to physical movement on a regular basis. For better or for worse, the modern world is full of convenience and ease significantly reducing the amount of physical activity a person receives on a daily basis. There is nothing wrong with a modern world filled with labor-saving technologies as long as the physical labor lost is replaced with sufficient physical activity. This can be accomplished by participating in a daily exercise program.In recent years LDS Church leaders have recognized the importance of exercise on the health and morale of LDS missionaries. As a result the leaders have added 30-minutes of exercise into the daily missionary schedule. Daily exercise while on your mission will help keep your weight under control, increase your muscular strength, increase your muscle mass, increase your metabolism, corrects and improves your posture, keeps your body flexible and your bones healthy among many other benefits.In addition to the physical benefits, daily exercise also promotes psychological well-being. It can promote feelings of accomplishment, increase self-confidence, improve your overall mood and reduce stress and anxiety.One way to make sure that you are healthy and fit for your mission is to participate in some kind of an exercise and nutrition program long before leaving on your mission. By following an exercise and nutrition program consistently before leaving on a mission you will be better prepared to withstand and overcome many of the physical and spiritual challenges that you may encounter while serving. Several resources are available if you are ready to begin an exercise program. Be sure to check out reputable fitness books and fitness magazines. Also, you can get a great deal of information off of high-quality health and fitness websites. Not all the information you will find will be of value so make sure to get your information from quality and reputable resources. If you can, you want to look for resources that specifically address your unique situation and challenges.Ultimately, consistent, daily exercise will help you be more energetic, healthy, youthful, confident, focused and balanced making you a more productive and powerful missionary.