Finding Fitness

Attitude Shapes Exercise Programs
If you desire to improve your fitness level, appearance, health, or lifestyle through exercise, you should be applauded, as it takes great courage to begin. There are many variables to ponder and decisions to make in finding and choosing a sensible exercise program. The following areas can strongly influence your attitude toward beginning and sticking with a program.

Misinformation
Roger Schwab, author of Strength of a Woman, states, “Professional athletes, fashion models, bodybuilders, and other self-styled prophets of health all claim to have the workout that works. They constitute a marketplace of misinformation, and no one is getting ‘ripped off’ worse than women.” You must exercise in a way specifically designed to meet your body’s needs to produce physical change.

Expectations
A very popular and fair question to ask is, “When will I begin to see results?” Proper training can bring about numerous physical results almost immediately. However, when it comes to visual changes in appearance, the most influential factors are the amount of body fat and muscle you have, your dietary intake, and the obvious—genetics.

Genetics
Since everyone has varying degrees of genetic gifts and limitations, we should only compare ourselves to ourselves. This will make it easier for you to see and feel the significant improvements you’ve achieved.

Function is Everything
A significant goal of exercise should be to improve functional ability. This refers to your body’s ability to move so you can more easily perform activities involved in daily living and recreational pursuits. Improved functional ability enables you to lift packages and carry your children without straining your back, enjoy strolls with your spouse, and maintain your balance and coordination while dancing. The best way to improve this area is to create stronger muscles, which simultaneously improves several other physical components, making your body firmer and leaner.

Fun Fetish
Becoming more fit and having stronger muscles requires hard work. The fun comes after the hard work—not necessarily during the exercise. Fun, as it relates to proper exercise, comes in the form of compliments you’ll receive from your friends and family. It comes in the form of self-satisfying glances in the mirror early in the morning as you prepare for work. It comes in the form of not requiring a walker or a cane when you’re 70 or 80 years old.

The Six-Week Syndrome
Beginning an exercise program can create anxiety and perhaps excitement. It feels exhilarating to work and challenge your body physically, perhaps for the very first time. Around approximately the six-week period or later, the so-called “novelty” of the experience begins to decrease. This is the time to really concentrate and put forth the extra effort to continue making physical improvements. Some individuals, regardless of their results, will terminate their program at this point and search out easier, more entertaining forms of exercise in order to avoid exerting the appropriate effort.  TPW