Fitness Tip - Year Round Fitness

No, it's not summer any more, but this is still a great refresher article on staying active year-round by Kalev training.

Does your body fall apart in the Summer?

When the summer hits Vancouver each year, the we tend to get caught up in all the exciting activities that our city has to offer, while we neglect to maintain our health and fitness. Weekend barbeque’s, road trips, and beach outings are much more enticing than a trip to the gym.

And, though we might stay active with recreational sports, we still need to supplement with a structured program of weight bearing movements. The crucial distinction between activity and exercise is in the outcome that you are after. Sport/Activity is a means of social interaction, competition, or some form of pleasure. Conversely, the primary purpose of exercise (which should also be fun!) is to improve function, bone density, composition, posture, etc. Sport breaks us down - the more we push to our limits on the court or field, the more potential damage we subject our bodies to. A well designed exercise plan will prepare our bodies to become resilient to this damage.Investing the time and energy in the gym allows us to recover more quickly from the weekend pick-up game, or from the night of partying that follows.

But during the weekly grind, exercise sometimes takes a back seat to meetings, deadlines, workshops, phone-calls and fill-in-the-blanks. And, though we know we ’should’ exercise, that never-ending list of to-dos is not getting any shorter.

We should be moving our bodies daily, and exerting ourselves to break a sweat at least 5 days a week. 3 - 5 of those days should include a strength training component and each workout should finish with a relaxing stretch.

If exercise is a priority in your day, like taking a shower, cleaning your teeth or going to work, treat it like a priority. If exercise is not already a habit that you consistently do at the same time every day, schedule it like you would any important appointment. Block off a chunk of time in your agenda that will give you time to travel, change, shower, eat..whatever other details that need to be anticipated. This is your time to “tune-up” your body. Ensure that you book off specific time each day (actually write it in your schedule!) devoted to exercise.

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