Each day I go to work, I climb the long four flights of stairs to the floor where my studio is located. Seventy-two stairs to be exact. Each day, this climb acts as a barometer of how I am feeling both physically and mentally. Is it difficult to get up those stairs today or can I run up and still feel strong? Does my bag feel heavy or am I light as a feather? So it goes with fitness, our fickle day-by- day friend. I love those days where I can run up those stairs. But I don’t feel that way every day. This might be unusual coming from someone who is in the fitness industry. I’m supposed to have a handle on this.
It makes me wonder, what is fitness? Or rather, what is physical well-being, the thing, we are told, that will keep us healthy and alive for a longer time than if we didn’t have it. What is IT? And where can I get IT?
I call IT life-fitness which combines many factors like the ones I list below.
In the following categories, here are a few questions you can ask yourself about the quality of your fit and healthy life:
Lifestyle: Are you sedentary or active? Do you eat out every night or cook at home? Do you smoke? Drink alcohol? How much water do you drink each day?
Mental Health: Are you happy or blue? Loner or socially active? Married, single, divorced, widowed?
Age and genetics: How old are you? Has your family background been filled with longevity and relative health? Have you had a parent die prematurely and if so, what were the reasons?
Medical: Do you have annual check-ups with your doctors and your dentist? Are you pro-active in health screenings?
All these factors add up to what may be defined as life-fitness. There are tests that determine a person’s physical fitness level. I took a course in fitness testing when I went to school for Personal Training. We learned how to take blood pressure, body fat percentage, test oxygen uptake, heart rate, pulse, stamina and flexibility. It is clear that measuring all these aspects of health can determine if a person is fit. But isn’t it how we feel? What if the numbers don’t add up?
There are people that get little or no pleasure from exercising and have never adapted to a regular exercise routine. The point is to just get moving whatever form it takes. It doesn’t have to mean joining a gym or hiring a trainer. Get out and walk with a friend or pop some great music in your ipod and get going. It takes time for a habit to become behavior and I promise that once you have more exercise in your life, it won’t feel right not to have it.
The truth is, life-fitness means something different to every person. For some, it simply means being able to get up and get dressed without pain. For others, it is a level of stamina and strength equal to that of professional athletes. For others still, it is a feeling of being strong enough to carry our groceries, pick up our children, and reach for that dish on the top shelf with as little effort as possible.
Well-being is who we are at that moment, that day, every day. Yes, our lifestyle and activity level may attest to how fit we are. Yes we can do tests and add up the numbers. But ultimately it is how we feel that day.
Human beings are generally patterned animals. We do respond to routine and comfort. We need to break the bad or unhealthy patterns whether they are physical, emotional, or psychological. Take a moment to tune in and listen to your body and mind. Learn what they need. Find out what life-fitness means to you and make the change. That is the real test. To have the strength and courage to make lifestyle changes, whatever they are.
As for me, I will continue to walk up those 72 stairs every day, listen to my body, and hope that on that day, I am feeling it.
Susannah Marchese is a certified fitness Pilates instructor and a senior contributing writer to the popular and informative website www.everything-about-pilates.com
