Fitness Can Be Squeezed into Any Day

The fact we say we don’t have time is untrue.                    

Everyone has 24 hours and how we use it is up to us. If we feel fitness is not important, we will do something else with our time, like sleep. I stretch several times a day by assuming different yoga poses. It can be done in any clothing and doesn’t work up a sweat.

If you sit all day there are certain yoga poses that can help loosen up your back, shoulders, and neck. Usually we have to counter the positions we use in a sport or in sitting;  most of the time this means opening up the back and shoulders. We can stretch our arms behind our back, lay backward over a stability ball, lean into a door jamb with our hands and fore arms against the jamb.

We also get tight hamstrings and calves which can be stretched by pushing against a wall, touching the floor, stretching our legs front to back and leaning over the forward knee and so on. Stretching is the first important part of fitness.

For surfing I warm up in the morning when I wake. I go into more poses after I have exercised by running or using the stability ball. I might also do some quick poses in the afternoon and definitely before I go to sleep. Five minutes a day can make a big difference.  For great stretches see  http://surfstronger.com/tips/

Diet is an important part of fitness. I don’t mean to eat less, I mean to eat right. Counting calories is the wrong way to lose weight or get fit. Fitness is consuming the right foods and eliminating the harmful foods.  When I tell calorie counters to eliminate sugar, processed foods, most flour, and bad fats, they groan. What do I eat? You eat fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, eggs, vegetable proteins and meat not served in a bun.

I lost 25 pounds this year eating right and exercising and it is weight that will not come back because my diet changed. I never starve. I can eat continuously and as much as I want because I am never eating something my body doesn’t recognize. When it doesn’t recognize (unnatural food) something it encapsulates it in fat.

Aerobics are an important part of fitness even if you participate in a sport. As I surf and use a lot of upper body, I also run every other day to build my stamina for those paddling sessions. Aerobics are most effective as intervals. 15 minutes before or after work or on the weekends can have the same affect as 90 minutes walking or on the treadmill.

Attitude, discipline, and commitment are the core of better health. Do you really want to be fit or just wish you would wake up more fit some day? Anything worthwhile requires what some people think of as sacrifice. For me, there is just no alternative so I am not sacrificing.

Fitness means you can participate in more sports longer and feel better everyday and even perform better mentally. The self esteem that comes with lean and fit gives you more confidence in social situations. Other people respect people who seem to have a high regard for being healthy and fit. It might lead to a promotion or a romance. It improves leadership potential.

Start squeezing in a few minutes everyday and if you are an athlete, squeeze in more supportive stretching, aerobics, and nutrition.