Fitness And Where You Stand Right Now :
Fitness is a term that is used to help define
the ability to stay in the best physical
shape. You may ask, then, “What am I
staying in shape for?” To each person, this
will be something different.
For most, it is a matter of staying healthy as long as
possible. You see, your body is designed to work as a
machine. When each part of the machine is cared for, the
entire machine works 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 won’t run at all.
If a car, for example, is well maintained for many years, it
will last many years longer. If it isn’t taken care of, for
example you don’t change the oil in it, you cut several years
off the life of the car. That’s costly to you, but when you
look at this as your body, you are shaving away days,
weeks, and even years off of your life when you don’t take
care of your machine (your body.)
Fitness is a necessary part of life. Before we get on the soap
box, 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 likely hated it. But, once
you learned how to do it, it became something that 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.
Where Are You Now?
Take a look at yourself right now. What do you see? If you
are unhappy about any part of your body, chances are good
that area of your body is bothering you because it’s an
unhealthy area.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine where
you stand right now.
Do you have aches and pains in parts of your body that
are not from an injury?
Do you have clothing that doesn’t fit parts of your body
well?
Do you struggle to do physical activities? Do you avoid
them because you know you can’t do them?
Are you unhappy with the way that your body looks?
Do you avoid looking in the mirror?
Have you been told by your doctor, your family or
others that you need to consider your fitness?
If so, then you need to begin by understanding that change
needs to happen. There are several tools that you need to
use to determine your health level currently. You can find calculators for many of these available to you free of charge
on the web. You need to use them to understand exactly
where you stand right now.
Your Blood Pressure: The pressure in which your heart
pumps blood throughout your body. You need this
number to be there, but it needs to be in a certain
range to be healthy. For adults, this is generally 120 to
139/80 to 89. Ask your doctor where your blood
pressure is.
Body Mass Index: Your BMI is a measure of the
percentage of fat on your body. The higher this
number is, the more prone to health risks you are.
Ideal Weight: In comparison to your height and body
structure, your ideal weight is the weight that you
should be, ideally.
These three things are critical elements for you to take into
consideration when considering where you stand right now.
But, there’s much more for you to consider.
One thing that we want you to do besides getting the above
information is to grab a tape measure and get one of the
most important measurements out there: your waist.
Your waist is important because it is the indication on your
body of your potential health risk. Those that have a larger
midsection are most prone to health risks.
This is an important piece of information because of how
vital it is to your health. Those that have a large midsection
are the most prone to heart problems. The fat that is here
will push into your body, causing difficulty for each organ
there. Your kidneys, your lungs and even your heart are
suppressed. In effect, the fat here is likely to be what kills
you, if you are overweight.