The Fitness Fix
Fitness is all the time. It may, at first, seem like it’s just that hour or so you spend working out each day, but at closer examination, you’ll see that everything is part of your fitness routine. From the quality of your sleep to the hours you sit at your desk – even the people you surround yourself with – it’s all part of your fitness routine.
I have a client that flies all over the globe for work. She’s on a plane every week and has been doing this for 20years. Now in her fifties, she’s very organized and plans ahead. She packs healthy snacks for herself and drinks only water. She travels with an herbal tincture for relaxation, and carries a blanket in her carry-on bag, so as to nap during the flight. Once, when she first landed this job, she drank cocktails and wore high heels on the plane, and would rush to the smoking lounge upon arrival. She said to me, “If I didn’t change, I would’ve been fired or died. Honestly, I couldn’t afford to be unfit.”
Another client of mine was pre-diabetic. Her doctor told her if she didn’t drop about 50lbs, she’d have to go on medication. She hired me as her trainer twice per week, which definitely got her moving, and helped boost her energy level and morale. However, we realized together, that her biggest downfall was that she ate tons of fast food in the car. As a mom of four, she spend every afternoon from 3pm on shuttling kids all over town. Now, she does driving duty with a big bottle of water and a couple pieces of fruit, and that tides her over until a proper sit-down dinner later on in each evening. I’m happy to report, Jessica dropped the excess pounds and is off the pre-diabetes radar.
My third example is Jessie. She was a star college soccer player but upon graduating, got a job in finance and completely stopped exercising. A year into her job, she was beginning to slouch, and she gained weight around her middle. She was getting out of breath when simply walking up one flight of stairs too. Without soccer practice, and her teammates and coaches pushing her into daily exercise, exercise was lost. I knew she had the discipline, so we decided to plan for a daily workout in the morning before work – five days a week of consistent movement at 6am. In no time at all, Jessica was back to her fit and high vibe self. All it took was an analysis to discover what part of her life was in need of a tuneup.
Exercise isn’t the only part of true fitness. That’s the moral of the story here. Exercise is a big part of it of course, but often there is a periphery piece of the puzzle that needs tending to. This week, be sure to check in with your whole life fitness. Is there a part of it that needs to be fixed?