What Does Fitness Mean To You?

The best way to help someone is to first learn what their goals and motivations are. In my journey towards becoming a personal trainer, that means it’s immensely helpful for me to know what motivates someone to be or become fit. But what does “fit” mean exactly? And is it the same as “health” or “wellness”?

Seems like there should be a straightforward answer for these terms. If that’s what you want, you can go consult a dictionary. But in my opinion, every person is unique and multidimensional, so I can only assume that each person’s definition is equally unique. It’s important to keep in mind our own definition as we establish and work towards our goals.

I tend to use the terms fitness, health, and wellness, interchangeably because my goal is to address a person as a whole: incorporating the mental, emotional, social, intellectual, and physical aspects of my life. The good news is that a lot healthy habits can address several aspects at once. Exercise, for example, not only helps physically, but it also helps alleviate mental or emotional stress. There certainly are a lot of benefits to maintaining healthy habits, but knowing these benefits isn’t always enough to motivate us. That’s why it’s really important to focus on the (more personal) things that ultimately keep us going. For me, I want to be fit for my friends and family so I can be my best self with them for as long as I can. As a (soon-to-be) personal trainer, I also want to be a positive example and useful resource for the clients that I work with.

Whether it’s a love for the outdoors, the approach of swimsuit season, or socializing in team sports; motivation is the key to being healthy, happy, and whole!

What does fitness, health, and/or wellness mean to you, and what motivates you to achieve it?

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Resolution Revolution

It’s almost the end of the first week of the new year, and right now, I’m feeling the pressure of coming up with my first real 2012 post. I’ve made it through a half-year of blogging without any major hiccups, so I know this is only a minor issue. Perhaps this is just a six-month itch. I just wonder because it’s not possible that I’ve exhausted all blogging topics and covered every event. So why the writer’s block?

Maybe I’m afraid of living up to my own expectations. After all, people tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves after the new year, and I’m not just talking about the sudden surge of dieters and gym-goers. We all do it, even if it’s just at a subconscious level; we want to improve upon the things we have already accomplished. It’s human. We all want to get better at something; whether it be at work, in our relationships, or even within our own minds.

January 1st just appears as the day after December 31st if you look at a calendar, but for many, it seems to hold more significance than the other 364 days of the year. You’ve probably heard something along the lines of “starting off the new year right” or somebody boasting about their New Year’s resolutions. January 1st is the one day that everyone seems to use as a launching pad for cleaning any clutter (mental or physical) that accumulated over the past year; looking ahead towards a cleaner brighter future.

Now that I’ve painted such a rosy picture for you, here are the issues I have with New Year’s resolutions. Sure, thinking about creating a better future is great and all, but it’s not just going to hand itself over to you. You’ve got to actually get up and do something! It’s one thing to say you’re going to make a change in your life, but it’s a completely different thing to actually make that change and stick with it. Also an issue: people that create a gigantic list of resolutions. How many of those do you actually think you’re going to accomplish? And finally, why do we rely on a calendar to determine when we set goals for ourselves? Shouldn’t we be thinking about setting goals more than once a year, like, almost every day?

So let’s get real with New Year’s resolutions for 2012. Skip out on making huge lists, stressing out, and setting ourselves up for disappointment. Instead, let 2012 be the year to set SMART goals. That stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Framed. If you keep those things all in mind when setting goals, you may end up with a shorter simpler list, but you’re going to be a whole lot more likely to follow-through and accomplish what you set out to do.

Organized, Offline, and On the Move

There are plenty of bad habits out there, and as much as we try to avoid them, it’s not always easy to do. We fall into routines because they’re convenient, but not necessarily because they’re good for us. For example, I sit at a computer all day at work. My eyes feel strained and my body gets stiff. I end up with a few browser sessions open at a time with several tabs in each browser. Even though the clutter is on my computer screen rather than on my desk, it’s still overwhelming. I usually come to this realization when I have so many tabs open that they squish together and I can’t read them anymore. Sometimes all I want to do it shut it all off, go for a walk, and forget that the internet exists!

Of course the internet is a very useful tool for many things (like this blog). It wouldn’t be realistic for me to completely eliminate my computer and internet use. That’s why I’m setting achievable goals for myself each month. It’s a personal campaign for my health and happiness. Setting goals is something we all need to feel like we’re making progress instead of just spinning our wheels. Goals are what keep us going, even if the going gets rough. I’ve discovered a great way to start setting my own goals. It’s called 30 Days of Good on Good.is (you should check it out). It’s basically a list of all the things you should be doing to maintain a healthy and happy life. Each month has a theme, and each day a new challenge is posted. Last month, they focused on connecting with people in new and creative ways. Their focus this month is getting healthy.

Before I can even think about any other goals, my first goal should be to get more organized. This means keeping better track of my calendar(s), staying on top of household chores, and taking the time to check in with myself. I could go on an on about all the things I want to accomplish, but once I’ve got the organization goal underway, the next one I’m aiming for is to replace online time with outside time. Not only will it be good for my body, but it’s also mentally beneficial.

I spend so much time online at work that I want to make my weekends about being offline. I already don’t own a smartphone, so that’s a start. Here’s my top ten list of ways I can incorporate more outside time. Some of them I already do, and some of them I’d like to start doing.

1) Choose to walk or bike places rather than bus or metro

2) Find at least one outdoor activity for the weekend

3) Make sure to get outside at least once during work

4) Switch a happy hour for a physical activity

5) Go for runs/walks with friends to catch up rather than chatting online

6) Walk to the farmer’s market every Sunday

7) Go for a walk after dinner rather than watch tv

8 ) Eat lunch outside

9) Switch an indoor gym workout for one outside

10) Get a group of friends together for a charity run/walk

Now I want to hear from you! What goals are you working towards? How do you plan to get there?