What is true fitness?

What is true fitness?

People often ask me what can they do to be “fitter”. Should they do more cardio, should their bench press numbers be higher, should they totally eliminate sugar from their diet?

Fitness to me (personally) is how I feel physically and mentally at a given time. You can’t be physically fit if your not feeling mentally fit.

Your fitness level ebbs and flows just like the tides of the ocean. At any given time you can be “fit” physically but still have nagging questions in your mind about “what’s next, am I missing something”? The moment of true fitness is when both of these elements come together as one.

When you do achieve true fitness, you won’t be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound or decipherer the Pythagorean Theorem. What you will feel is an over whelming sense of confidence in yourself, your body and the decisions you make. The nagging voices of self doubt will quiet and your journey towards your perfect life will be easier.

I am sure you are saying to yourself, “awesome, how very Zen” but what am I going to do about the 2 dozen Christmas cookies that have found their way to my hips? This is where you need to flex your mind muscle. The one that drives to you show up to class, the one that forces you to work harder than you thought you could. Have confidence in yourself, knowing that you have the tools to increase your fitness level.

Don’t hope or wish something to happen, that’s the first excuse for failure. Make it a fact in your mind. When the mind believes it…it’s true. Goals are not met over night, it takes hard work, and anything worth while does.

Here are my personal experiences with true fitness in the last month.

Where I succeeded:
It was Christmas morning and my parents came over to spend the day with us. I was so happy to see them (Dad is 72 and has diabetes and a heart condition) they looked exhausted and sat down in my kitchen. I went over and hugged my Dad, told him how much I loved him and then went to do the same to my Mom. I heard a crash and my daughter screamed. My Dad (6’ 2” 230) was face down on the tile floor. He was not moving, and the way he was laying on the floor looked contorted. In that split second my heart went to my throat and a flash went through my mind that this was how it was going to end, and then something else took over. My mind went calm; I ran over to him and flipped him over like a toy doll. His face was cut and he had damaged his teeth. I brought his head back and listened for breath with my hand on his chest. I was counting out chest compression and breaths in my head when he finally gasped for breath. My dad had passed out, no heart attack thank God. At that moment while talking to him and reassuring him that I was with him, I felt strong. I was confident in what I was doing and calm in my mind.
My best Christmas gift this year was being able to hug my father a second time on Christmas day.

Where I failed:
I have an injury…OK, I have said it. My knee is not working as it has for the past 49 years, I have found my kryptonite. I ignored it and pretended that it wasn’t “real”. This has been going on for the past 2 months. A month ago when I noticed that I was not able to sit crossed legged or kneel, I started to panic. Self doubt settled in and denial took over. My decision making became questionable. My “temple” was faltering. It has taken a lot for me to seek outside help and stop the denial. I have started physical therapy for the affected area. Physically I was unfit and that in tern crippled me mentally. Time has passed and I am happy to say that my physical therapist (Jamie Berenson) has helped me tremendously and I am getting better. I am monitoring my recovery and if I am not satisfied with my progress, I will move forward to the next level of repair.

As you can see, I too have the ebb and flow of fitness. I am determined to continue working on my journey and embrace each step.

As we move forward in the New Year let’s not make any half hearted resolutions, but ask yourself the question “what is my true fitness?” What part of your journey to true fitness needs to be worked on? Do you need to feel strong physically, do you need to feel more confident in yourself, do you need to flex your drive muscle?
Whichever part of your being needs training I am there for you, all of me.
Stay Strong,
-Rob