Life and Fitness: What a Balancing Act!

Spring is finally here…and with it comes more sun, family fun, home projects to complete, and all sorts of other crazy things that we just don’t see coming. The big question here is, “How do we schedule all that stuff and still find time to stay in shape?” The answer may be as easy as making some simple, but important, changes.

First, what are the most important things in our lives? Hint, one of them should be ourselves. Plenty of experts, including good ol’ Dr. Phil, agree that finding balance in life relies on making our own physical and mental health a priority. Basically, to function at our best, we need to be at our best. Think about it, how can we take care of others later on if we can’t keep ourselves healthy now?

Second, we have to find time for ourselves. It may seem impossible, but somewhere in that hectic lifestyle is at least a few hours a week for a little exercise. Time management expert Laura Vanderkam says that often times we lie to ourselves about how much time we use effectively in our lives. Admit it, we’ve all tried to one-up someone about how little sleep we’re really getting or how many hours we spent driving the family to and from soccer practice. Vanderkam suggests logging our time for a week and finding out where the gaps are. Those gaps can add up to some valuable “me” time at the Rec Center.

Third, what’s our long term goals? Are we trying to keep those six-pack abs or just trying to find a way to maintain overall health? Setting long-term goals with reachable short-term objectives is one of the keys to succeeding here. If not sure, we can always start by asking a health professional for a checkup and go from there.

Finally, what kind of workout do we want? Some of us like working out alone on a treadmill, some need someone to do strength training with, and others like group fitness classes. More often than not, when we’re unsure it’s best to ask the pros. Meeting with one of the personal trainers at the Claremore Rec is a good place to start.

So, what are we waiting on? Let’s do this!

If there’s any topics or questions you think we should talk more about, let us know on Facebook or Twitter.