What Does "Being Fit" Mean Anyway? (she: Melanie)

Okay, a little information about myself... I am a stay at home mom of 2 and married to my amazing high school sweet heart for 4 1/2 years now. I graduated from Weber State University with a BS in Health and Fitness while playing soccer there. My passions are skiing, camping, hiking, crafts, decorating, sports, coaching, working out, and anything with my family.

Of course ,Mariel asked me to do a post right after being featured on Good Things Utah... talk about pressure. So after thinking of all the things I could post about, I decided to stick to what I'm familiar with... Fitness!

What does "Total Fitness" even mean? The actual definition is: a condition reached through striving for optimal quality of life in all aspects- social, mental, psychological, spiritual and physical.

So how do we achieve "Total Fitness" with our busy schedule? Let me help you out a little bit...

First we ask HOW MUCH exercise should we get:

Surgeon General- 30 minutes/day

Institute of medicine- 1 hour/day

How the heck are we suppose to fit that in DAILY. The best news is... EVERYTHING COUNTS!

• Try to include more exercise as part of your daily life, use stairs, park at a distance, try to incorporate some lifting of light or moderately heavy items (ex: milk jugs).

For those of you who are thinking... I already do all that and I still don't feel fit:

Lets step it up a notch.

Try making it a family activity. Put some cones out and try to keep up with your kids. That should get you fit pretty quick. It sure wears me out!

• Go for a family/friend hike. Then it doesn't seem like just exercise.
  
  


• While you're out grocery shopping or in the car, make it a point to keep your stomach flexed or sucked in. Time yourself, try to beat your old time.

Well, there you have it, a few suggestions to fit your Fitness into your regular routine. For a more in depth fitness program you can visit many online websites that will personalize a workout for you and your fitness level. Here are a few I like:

http://www.women-workout-routines.com/free-workout-routines.html

or

http://www.fitclick.com/www/xnt/tf/pages/splash/VisitorSplash.aspx

http://www.freetrainers.com/

Obtaining "Total Fitness" is different for everyone. Make some goals and decide what you want to make your life be. There's your pep talk... now pry yourself from this amazing blog and go out and do it!

- Melanie

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