We are all different.
We’re all born to different parents. We all look different, and that’s because we ARE different. We have different shaped faces, we have different perceptions and values, and we all enjoy different things. No two people are ever exactly the same – biologically, physically, or psychologically.
With this in consideration then, we must realise that no health or fitness regime is ever going to suit everybody. There will never be a one-size-fits-all plan or programme, so we shouldn’t ever go looking for one. Our bodies react and respond differently to that of our friends, neighbours, and even our own mothers! We need to find something that works for us, and only us. Something that works for our mind and that we enjoy, but also something that our body positively responds to and that we know is taking us in the direction we want to go.
You see, your health and fitness is all about you. It’s about your goals, it’s about your likes and needs, and it’s about your successes and triumphs. You’re designing your own health and fitness adventure. You don’t need to compare yourself to your friends or cousins fitness goals or fitness successes – because they’re hers, not yours.
It doesn’t matter what your friend, neighbour, work colleague, or mother is doing, nor how fast they are progressing towards their goals. That is their body and their life; your life looks different to theirs (it always will); and your body responds to health and fitness different to theirs too (again, it always will).
Instead we need to get in tune with our inner drives and our inner desires. We need to use our own innate intuition and understand what works for our body and what doesn’t. We’re more likely to adhere to a plan or exercise regime if we enjoy it. And what’s more, we’re also more likely to adhere to a plan or exercise regime if we find ourselves getting positive results from it.
There are multitudes of options available to us when it comes to fitness and exercise options. We are incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by all kinds of tramping groups, group fitness classes, adult dance classes, pilates and yoga, bootcamps, high intensity short duration workouts, personal training, Youtube fitness channels, internet exercise websites, and 24 hour gyms. We honestly do have a complete smorgasboard of options available to us in the modern day as we know it; we are incredibly spoilt for choice.
What we need to do with this smorgasboard is take some taste tests – dip our fingers into the ones that we’d like to try, and learn about our physical and mental responses to them. It doesn’t matter if we try something and we don’t like it; just accept that it’s not for you and move along to the next option. The great news is there is something out there that is perfect JUST for you. Keep looking until you find what tickles your fancy and what floats your boat.
The biggest thing to remember, though, is that fitness and health is never a race. There is no finish lines. Sure, your goals should have deadlines – in fact, a deadline is one of the elements that leads to goal success. But in terms of your overall and ongoing fitness, there is no red tape or finish line.
To witness and experience the benefits of good health, fitness must become a life-long commitment. This doesn’t mean you’ll be all guns blazing ALL the time; your own personal levels of exercise involvement and intensity will go up and down over your lifespan as you go through various busy patches in life. But overall, you need to keep tracking with your fitness, even if it’s just for 20 minutes a day on 4 days of the week.
Make fitness a lifestyle. Embark on it with confidence, passion, and enthusiasm. Know what your comfortable level is. Develop a weekly fitness plan that is time-effective for you, that gets you the results you’re looking for, and that makes you feel good. Set goals that challenge you and that keep pushing you to be a stronger, faster, and more flexible version of yourself.
This is your life. Make it a good one.
For comments email corinne@fitfixnz.co.nz.
