Fitness in Eight Words

Having been involved in the heath, fitness, and wellness professions most of my adult life, I’ve worked with everyone from professional skateboarders, golfers, professional triathletes, and weekend warriors to people suffering with a wide array of health conditions.

I consider myself an athlete, too, but not the kind that wins races or big prizes. I train for old age. Really. Let me say that again: I train for old age.

I was riding an indoor bike at the gym last winter, sitting next to a gentleman that was probably in his 60s or 70s. He looked at me and remarked how great it was to see a “girl” sweating profusely and completely “into” her exercise. I kindly accepted the compliment; I love pushing myself making every second count. I replied with a compliment and asked him if he had any advice for me, anything he’d have done differently when he was my age. He summed it up in eight words, “Don't stop moving; use it or loose it.”

These words remain plastered into my mind; the eight words could be considered cliché, but they hold the secret. Even though I have studied physiology, nutrition, anatomy, weight training, molecular biology, massage, anthropology, and hold advanced degrees, this guy summed up years of study in eight words. Oh, and I asked if he minded telling me his age—he’s 92.

Here’s the important part and what you are up against. Long before you inhabited this earth, or our parents, or our parents’ parents, people spent long periods of time with little or no food available, followed by periods of intense activity, hunting and gathering when food was plentiful. Our bodies have been programmed for centuries to store every ounce of energy we put into our mouths because our bodies don’t know in advance when we will get out next meal.

If you don’t do something everyday to remind your body that it is not time to store every morsel, it will hold on to those Twinkies like crazy. So, you need to sweat, move, and do something! Every day that we sit around, and don’t move away from our computers, and don’t move away from the TV, and don’t get outside to run and play and hunt, we tell our bodies to store energy for the big hunt tomorrow.

When we move, our bodies release signals into our bloodstream that tell our fat stores and other energy sources to go do their work to power our movements. These signals are, largely, what removes the "foam cooler from around your six pack," for example, and ultimately improves the quality of your life!

So instead of being bogged down by all the details: what to eat, how to exercise, how to get into the fat-burning zone, and on and on, just go do something. Everyday, simply make a commitment to tell your body that it is not winter, and that now you will hunt. Use that energy you ate for breakfast, mobilize those fat stores, and move. Even if you have to break it up, ten minutes here and there, take the stairs, park at the end of the parking lot, bicycle to work, every step or turn of your bicycle’s pedals will tell your body it is not winter and to use the energy. Sure, there are superior ways to eat, drink, and exercise, but your main goal should be to move. It is possible to live a very, very long time very, very unhealthy and miserable—but why? Start moving now. Don’t waste another second. "Don't stop moving; use it or loose it."

My Swimming Tips

Skydiving!