No Deal on the Table

Fitness rule for today:

Make fitness non-negotiable.

Think about your life.  You get up in the morning.  You eat breakfast  (I hope) or at least have a cup of tea, or coffee, or a glass of juice.   If you have kids, you take care of them.  You feed them breakfast, then get them off to school or daycare.  You go to work.  When you are hungry, you eat.  You go to bed at the end of your day.  This is what makes up your day, with a variety of activities in between.  Some you choose, some you just have to do.   Do you ever say to yourself, Wow, I’m really hungry.  But I’m not going to eat today. or Oh, I have to go to the bathroom but I don’t really feel like it.  I’ll just hold it. How long can you not eat?  Or not pee?  You can’t, at least not for too long.   You take care of these basic elements and functions because your body asks you to do them.  You do them because they are not negotiable items on your daily checklist.   These are the things you have to do.   There is no deal on the table when it comes to real life.  Taking care of our bodies is what we do instinctively.  Sometimes we forget that fitness is part of that care taking.  We only listen when our bodies protest with aches and pains.

When you listen to your body, you hear a variety of comments from it. Some of the comments are complaints.  I’m hungry.  I’m thirsty.  I’m tired.  I need a hug. You might also hear My knees are stiff.  My back aches.  My head hurts.  I’m sad.  Lonely.  Anxious. You might hear I’m full.  I’m bored.  I want some company.  I need some sun on my face. I feel the need for a walk in the woods, or on the beach. Get up!  We have a leg cramp!   Move!!! Your body, when you listen, asks for activity.

So how do you make fitness non-negotiable?  You treat it like food.  Like sleep.  Like going to the bathroom. You find a way to fit in into your day.  It’s hard, I know.  There is only so much time in your day.  There’s a show you absolutely cannot miss.  You have to attend a business meeting.  How do you know that show is on?  How do you remember when your meeting takes place?

You do it by keeping track.  You write it down on your calendar.  It’s a reminder on your iPhone or your Palm Pilot, the same as for your meetings, and for keeping track of doctor appointments, the children’s game and lesson schedules, and friends’ birthdays.  That is how you begin.  It’s what you have to do.  Soon, you will hear your body.  You will feel the response, and you won’t need to write it down to remember.  It becomes like eating and sleeping.  It becomes what you do.

For me, I drink my coffee, a chia fresca, and dress in running gear.  I keep lip balm in my vest pocket, and a little pile by the front door with my music, gloves, sunglasses, and tissues.  I do what I have to do for my family, then I do what I have to do for me.  If I have an early client, I wake up earlier and run.  If I can’t go in the morning, then I go later, even though it’s not my favorite time of day to run.  I run.  So I do.  Period.  On the bad weather days, I focus on strength and core work.  It’s what I do.  My body loves it, and expects it the same way it expects to be fed breakfast, lunch, dinner, and rest.

Those complaints you hear from your body will stop when you are attentive and work to attain the level of fitness your body needs.  Strength and resistance training build muscle, making your arms, legs, and core strong to support yourself.  Cardiorespiratory/ aerobic exercise makes your heart and lungs strong, giving your body more endurance. It releases endorphins that make you feel happy and exhilarated.   Flexibility training relieves muscle pain and stress, making basic daily activities easier.  The benefits of physical exercise are immense, and free. All you have to do is make it non-negotiable.

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Tags: benefits of exercise, chia fresca, exercise, fitness, Fitness Rule #10, goals, running, strength training

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