Ask yourself:
What was the best shape you were ever in?
And then change the question to look ahead as well as in the past:
What is the best shape you will ever be in?
Is it ahead of you or behind you??? Or is it now? Hold that image in your mind.
Did you think of being in your best shape as looking good or do you think of it as being physically capable? Both? When you read the questions, I hope you had a vision of your level of fitness being at its best. I hope the vision you had was when you were, are, or will be your best at running, swimming, bicycling, climbing, or anything you do that is physically challenging.
And before we get too far along we need to understand what fitness means. Most pundits measure fitness as achieving:
- Aerobic fitness
- Muscular strength
- Coordination
- Flexibility
But "wait!" you might be saying. "What about body weight and body fat ratios?" "Those are important for being in good shape, right?" Yes, diet and exercise are both important to good fitness. No, weight and body fat are not good measures of fitness. They are related, and so they can reflect on fitness. We tend to have rather sedentary lifestyles, so lower weight and body fat ratios are generally noble goals. But some people get obsessed with their weight and sacrifice fitness or health altogether. Granted, our physical appetites and the body's tendency to build fat reserves can make it tough to stay fit, but we can also gain or lose weight without getting in good shape. The simplest argument for this is that diets can change weight and fat ratios, but by themselves do nothing to improve a person's level of fitness. In fact they can reduce it by reducing nutrients and energy levels. I have always advocated that fitness is more important to quality of life than weight management. The focus shouldn't be weight, it should be fitness. But while watching the weight scale won't tell you what kind of shape you're in, I recognize that good fitness often depends on managing weight too.
After I graduated from college and started a new job I joined a local health club. My goal was to put on some muscle and bulk up a bit. I wanted to improve my fitness with an emphasis on muscular strength. I got into a steady routine of going 3 evenings a week plus one weekend day. Then I discovered I enjoyed aerobics classes. Well, so much for bulking up... I found 2 instructors who were excellent and started going to their classes. After work, my typical workout was warmup stretching, 15-20 minutes on a cycle to warm up, more stretching, 30-60 minutes of nautilus machines and free weights, and 1 or 2 hours of aerobics. It totaled up to three to four hours a visit... After 18 months I only weighed about 15 pounds more than when I started, but my buoyancy was underwater. In a swimming pool I no longer floated at the surface, but a couple inches under. I hadn't bulked up as I wanted, but I was solid. I could do more push-ups, pull-ups, and bar dips than most of the other club members. And was more flexible than most. Thinking back, that was my fitness peak so far ... and was too long ago.
Actually, from when I joined, I lost over 10 pounds before I started gaining weight, so I count it as 25 pounds of bulking up. Which with all the aerobic exercise I accepted this as good progress. Looking back, it was a lot of sweat, and worth it.
Moving forward to today, my dear wife persists with her workouts. She recently told me that her pants are fitting looser. What a wonderful problem to have! A couple of months ago after she had been going for about a month she told me about her progress. I told her it was a good start. And I meant this as encouragement, like "you're doing great, keep it up". But for some reason she took it as criticism of some sort... As if I would want to put any damper on her enthusiasm about getting in better shape. But damned if I do, damned if I don't sometimes because there will always be something about what I say or don't say or how I said it. This time after hearing about the loose pants I was more tactful about my encouragement, and I told her that I would gladly get her new pants, which she took well (I think...).
And since she has been working out diligently, I have been more motivated to go to my gym. She and I can't work out together. We learned early on that our goals, methods, and likings are too different. But she keeps telling me about things that work for her and I do likewise. I am now going for a little over an hour 3 times a week, so I'm the one at "good start". Now that the days are longer I'll be jumping on the mountain bike to do some cardio work too. Hopefully we'll both be moving along to the "next level" towards getting in the best shape we've ever been.
I remember talking with a work associate who had returned after spending a month bicycling across the United States. That's right. He rode with a group of bicyclists from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. And not by the shortest route either. One of the things he found remarkable was that while he was riding so much he could eat as much of just about anything he wanted and not worry. All those fatty, protein and carb loaded foods. His body would metabolize everything it could get. But now that he was back he really had to watch his diet.
I found an interesting article about a lawsuit filed in Chicago. Supposedly some woman sued the company that made her couch because of the 100+ pounds she gained while sitting on it. Apparently they are to blame for not providing warnings... I haven't substantiated the article, so it may just be another "web fiction". Or maybe that suit failed and now she's one of the people suing McDonalds for how their food makes people fat. Hmmm, I think I know a bike ride these people need to go on...
Staying in shape becomes harder as we get older. And as with any challenge, we can tackle it or surrender to it. Fitness is important to quality of life. So, it is up to each of us to make sure the rest of ours is the best it can be.