Why Try To Improve Overall Fitness?

I’ve found myself answering questions about why I worry about trying to improve overall fitness levels, recently.  It’s an interesting subject that sometimes leads to conversations about what activity is better for losing weight, or getting fit.  I wish I had considered this subject of how a little better before I started down the path of trying to get fit.  Knowing what I know now, it may have made the entire process a little less arduous.  But I guess that’s why we call these things journeys.  They take time.  But the reason for overall fitness is another matter entirely.

Thoughts On Improving “Overall” Fitness

So far in my trek to learn about fitness, health, and weight loss, these are the activities I’ve tried:

1. 5K Run
2. 10K Run
3. Half marathon
4. Swimming
5. Cycling
6. Swing dance (Laugh if you want, but it’s great exercise.  Good for your relationship, too.)
7. Sprint Triathlon (both pool swim and open water swim)
8. Weight lifting

The primary reason I’ve tried so many different activities is to alleviate boredom and to keep my workouts challenging.  As you can see, I’ve tried a variety of activities.  After finishing the half marathon, I came to the conclusion that I could easily become bored, if all I planned to do was run for the next 20-years.  Which, I didn’t.  Besides, running is just plain hard.  I needed to add some variety to my workouts.  So I decided to cut back on the running somewhat, but add swimming to my routine.  Still an aerobic activity, but a quite different physical demand on the body.

This is when I learned that the subject of overall fitness is relative.  For instance – I managed to complete a half marathon.  Not gracefully, but I did manage the feat.  I figured learning to swim for exercise (rather than just splashing in the water) would be hard, but hey!  I had just ran 13.1 miles.  My first day in the pool, I decided to take it easy and start with a light 400 meter swim.  Ha!  That’s when I discovered that I couldn’t manage to swim 25-meters without feeling like my lungs were going to explode!  Holy cow!  Was I ever disabused of the notion that I was actually fit…

I had the same experience when I decided to take up cycling.  Not biking, mind you.  Cycling.  (I have been informed by “true cyclists” that there is a difference.)  Some of my friends who are serious cyclists decided to introduce me to the sport.  Again, I learned that even though I could now swim across a pool without feeling as if I might drown, or run a 10K, that meant nothing when it came to cycling.  The first day, I went out for a light 12-mile ride with two of those guys.  Boy was that a mistake.  This is what I mean by acknowledging that too much exercise can be just as bad as too little.

Why “Overall Fitness?”

We need a reason to get out and pound the pavement, or heft weights, or whatever other activity you have chosen.  I’ve come to believe that it is next to impossible for someone with the responsibilities of job, family, and home, to excel at all things.  We can’t all be decathletes.  Where fitness is concerned, I happen to be currently making progress on the aerobic and strength fronts.  I’m losing the battle with flexibility.  My wife, by comparison, is very flexible by virtue of doing yoga, but isn’t a good runner.  Is one of us “more” fit than the other?  I don’t think so.  I believe your body adapts to whatever demands you may place upon it.  This is, of course, the essence of cross-training.  By placing a wide variety of demands on the body, you can improve your ability to perform a variety of tasks.  The core of the question.

I have chosen to strive for “balance” in my fitness regimen, and accept that I may not truly excel at any single activity.  But, I don’t live to be fit.  My goal is to build “practical” strength in the hope that I will maintain the ability to perform the daily activities that make life enjoyable.  What are those?  To name a few, dancing with my wife, playing with my kids, and hunting or fishing when the opportunity arises.  This is my motivation for staying fit.

What’s yours?

Photo credit.

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