---

Hi Ade,

With your busy schedule and uncompromising approach to exercising, how do you manage your time? When is the best time to exercise? Thank you.

— Rudy Wijaya

Hi Rudy,

With regards to your first question, I simply prioritize exercise above any other activity. In other words, it is more important for me to stay healthy than it is to work overtime. The time I dedicate each day to exercising still amounts to
far less than the time I put into my daily work.

As to your question about when is it best to exercise, for my part I simply decide when I want to exercise and adhere to my schedule. On days when it’s not possible to do so, I will squeeze in exercise in between meetings or work. The best time to exercise for most people is usually in the morning. But I am not a fan of telling people how to organize their day, because it could potentially become an excuse for many people not to work out. They may deliberately arrange to be busy in the morning or simply opt not to exercise once the morning has passed (even though they still have the time in the late afternoon or early evening).

Hi Ade Rai,

I work in the HR department of a company in Jakarta. I have noticed that those of us working here, including myself, have put on weight and seen are waist-size increase dramatically. I recall the first 3 years after college, I put on 10 kilograms and 4 inches on my waist. I guess we exercise less after entering the workforce compared to when we were younger and still in college. I am afraid I will gain more weight as I am not getting any younger and my body is getting lazier. Any solution to this problem is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!

— Rivan Jaya

Hi Rivan,

You simply need to make your health one of your top priorities. It may sound quite funny at first to place “finding the time to exercise and eat properly” higher than “working overtime for the advancement of my career”.

Why? Because exercise is viewed as unpleasant experience for a tired body, and dieting as unnecessary pain that hinders us from enjoying rewards we deserve after busting ourselves at work.

But when you think that without health, it would be almost impossible to advance our career, exercise and diet will become necessary evils. In the end, you will only have yourself to blame for not making them part of your daily schedule, and you will thank yourself for making them an integral part of your lifestyle.

As for this weight gain and waist enlargement phenomenon, you are right. My partner and I at the Rai Institute have surveyed at more than 20 national companies and come up with the same finding.

More than 80 percent of employees gain between five and 10 kilograms, and between two to 5 inches around their waist in the first three years of their career, regardless
of gender.

Consequently, employees’ productivity will slowly but surely drop to a significant level because they cannot concentrate, while at the same time, absenteeism, incidents of disease, and workplace injury will increase.

You may want to confirm these findings by accessing the statistics at the department you work at.

The world’s medical experts also support this notion that weight gain is the biggest yet most silent cause of lower productivity and job satisfaction at work, and increased corporate medical and healthcare costs at the cost of lower workers’ productivity.

One unproductive employee may be negligible, but if a company has 100 to 2,000 less-than-productive employees, something may need to be done.

Here are some ideas you or your team may want to consider proposing to your company’s board: corporate health encouragement programs, setting-up health parameters that all departments have to adhere to, and improving health policies and implementation.

Thank you for all your questions. Please keep them coming to my email at ask_aderai@yahoo.com. I will be more than happy to answer them for you. Stay strong and stay healthy!

Note: This article is for fitness information purpose only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or nutritional program. Views and suggestions provided are strictly individual and may not be suitable for individuals with similar conditions or profiles. Ade Rai and The Jakarta Post have exercised good faith in presenting the safest measures known at the time of writing. The writer and/or The Post do not assume responsibility for any injury or loss from applying the information presented in the column.