Fitness Through Motion

If you’ve ever wanted to get into better shape, the first thing you would probably do is figure out where you can workout and when you will have time for it. What I have come to learn, however, is that fitness does not necessarily have to come from a gym, or from a strict exercise routine that must not be broken. In fact, I think that a lot of people who start out in that kind of mindsets end up falling off in the end. It’s like the January 1st syndrome. Everyone wakes up, resolutions in hand, and gets out there for a run. This will be the day for change! Then after a week or so, they realize that they are sore, tired and don’t have the time to keep doing this, so they stop all together. But this is not what health or fitness is about. Fitness is about living a sustainable lifestyle that is beneficial to your health. It’s about taking the stairs to your apartment, finding a sports league to revisit your favorite sport, or just taking a walk every night and enjoying the warm summer evenings. It’s about making healthy decisions one day at a time, which after years of maintaining, you realize, you’re in much better shape than all those people that always wanted to exercise, but just never stuck with it. It’s about movement (though nutrition is going to be a big part too!), and the more you move, and the more you stay active, the better you feel and the more fulfilling your life can be.

Now don’t get me wrong, the gym is important and it is a staple in my daily routine, but my point is that you don’t NEED the gym. Yes it is an excellent tool, from sports performance, to physical aesthetics; it is a haven for the fitness enthusiast. But not everyone likes the gym and not everyone has the time or money to regularly attend an established “fitness center”. Don’t let this stop you. There are too many people out there today that are in serious need of physical activity, and the less you do, the less likely you are to get back into it. As our country becomes progressively more sick, it is going to be my job and the job of all others in the health industry to reach out and help people to see just how important physical health is to all areas of life, and to show them that fitness is not about who can lift the most, look the best, or run the farthest; it’s about who can be healthy, happy and injury/disease free the longest.

Good luck to all of you in your own health and fitness goals; I’ll be back again next week with another post, so stay posted and keep moving!

-Colin