EDITORIAL: Happiness and health go hand in hand

Let’s see a show of hands, and be sure to check out the flab below your bicep as you hesitantly hoist an appendage.

How many of you resolve to get into better shape in 2023, not just to look and feel better physically, but to help ward off the blues that strike quickly and dig deeply in these stressful times?

That’s a lot of hands — and no shortage of tricep flubber on display.

Well, good for you deciding to improve your quality of life, one drop of sweat at a time. Now you’ve got three choices if you really want to move the needle toward a happier, healthier life.

First, how do you intend to get more fit? The least expensive and most convenient methods involve simple but consistent exercises at home, which can include taking brisk walks in your neighborhood. But many of us lack the resolve to stick with a home-based program. That’s why gyms and health clubs are so popular.

This leads us to deciding, which gym or health club is best for you? Kootenai County is loaded with options, featuring a wide range of prices and proximity. There are lots of excellent resources, some likely close to where you live, so check them out. Our highest recommendation goes to Peak Health and Wellness Center, for several reasons.

One is the array of exercise options, with Peak offering something outstanding for everyone, no matter their age or fitness level. There’s likely a Peak facility near you; Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden all boast robust Peak fitness centers with superb, professional staffs.

Finally, once you’ve chosen a gym, you’ll need to figure out the best times to work out. Most of us don’t want to exercise when the facility is most crowded. We go to exercise, not stand around and wait.

A national survey of gym chains by fitnessvolt.com offered this insight for Idaho: 4 to 7 p.m. daily is the busiest workout window, with Tuesdays at 5 p.m. being the peak busy time each week. Now, if you’re more in the market to see and be seen, you might view those windows as opportunities. But for most of us? Any other time would be better.

There’s another benefit to joining established gyms and fitness centers that’s hard to quantify but provides outstanding personal value, and that’s the relationships you can forge with people on health quests like yours. Simple social interaction is a basic human need, and lasting, deep friendships can result from getting to know the gym patrons around you.

So kiss those flabby underarms goodbye. This new year, join the club of healthier, happier people.