Physical fitness is a term that is used to help define the ability to remain in the best physical shape. You ask then, “What am I staying in shape for?” To each person, this will be answered differently.
For the majority of us, it is a matter of keeping healthy as long as possible. Not wanting to sound like a Terminator movie…, but your body is designed to work like a machine. When each component of the machine is treated well, the entire machine functions the best that it can. When the machine is neglected either in part or in the whole, then the machine won’t run well and eventually will break apart.
If a car, for instance, is well maintained for many years, it will last many years longer. If it isn’t attended to, for example you ignore the oil change alert, you shave several years off the life of the car. That’s costly to you, but when you look at this as your body, you are knocking off days, weeks, and even years off of your life if you don’t take care of your machine (your body.)
Fitness is an essential part of life. Before we get on the podium, remember that fitness is something that you can get into the habit of doing which makes it easy.
Fitness is not something that you have to struggle with. When you were three you were probably taught to brush your teeth. You learned to put your clothes on. When you were learning how to do them, you most likely hated it. But, once you learned how to do it, it became second nature, and you didn’t think twice about. Do you worry about brushing your teeth today? No, because it’s a habit. That’s what we want you to think of when you think of fitness.
It’s just something that you do. Granted, the first weeks of learning to be fit and staying healthy will be the hardest. You’ll dread it. You’ll find excuses about not doing it. You’ll claim that getting fit is just too hard. You just can’t give up what you love. That’s not true.
In fact, if you have the will power to save your life by sacrificing for just a few weeks, you’ll see that fitness can be easily mastered by you.
Our first goal is to determine where you stand right now. Don’t worry, this is painless, but it may hurt your ego a bit to do it. Nevertheless, it’s an important first step.