At our first Crossfit class, our trainer asked Corey and I what it meant to be fit. I turned to Corey expectantly because he is better at talking. There's a reason I write.
Corey explained that fitness, to him, was the ability to do anything - any kind of physical activity - with ease. Scale mountains, I thought, sprint when you're 60, race to Starbucks with your four year old, ad nauseum.
Dave was nodding energetically, yes, yes. He told us: most people provide examples of people or events when they define Fitness. Fit is an Ironman athlete. Fit is Michael Phelps, minus the bong. Fit people have ripples in their stomach and they eat a lot of ugly food and care too much about a body that is going to wrinkle and crumple and end up communing with worms, anyway.
Those are all wrong, Dave suggested, fitness is about exploiting what you can do to the max. Step into a kayak for the first time and your core is strong; you won't tip it. Your arms are hard and lean, you'll paddle the first time, easily. You'll go further and see more than someone who isn't fit, who doesn't notice the scenery because her arms are screaming.
His words spoke to me. I admit I began this journey because I wanted my butt to look better in my jeans. I wanted to be healthy and live longer and yadda yadda yadda, really all I ever wanted was a rock hard stomach and a perky butt.
But then when I started to create goals for myself (part and parcel of the hard stomach) - I started to lose a little of the focus on physical changes, and I realized the mental. I was enjoying doing things more. I liked doing pushups and I wanted to do as many squats as humanly possible because I wanted to challenge myself, because I have a goal to run a half marathon with my son when I am in my fifties.
That said, I am a big fan of writing down goals. I think something snaps in space when intent meets pen and I've seen a million things happen because I've written them down and concentrated on them. So my fit goals this year are:
1. Complete a half marathon in 1:45 or less. We've registered for the Vegas Marathon where Corey is going to beat down BHJ,(BHJ has been goading. We can't resist a goad.)
2. Work out 5 days a week as hard as possible for the rest of 2010.
3. Take Nolan on one fitness related activity every week: hiking, biking, climbing, etc. This will be a bit easier in the summer.
4. Do 3 pull ups in a row.
5. Bring body fat level down to 19%. (Yeah, this one's not overly noble, but it's a goal and I want it and it'll force me to eat better. I still struggle with the peanut butter.)
What are your goals? Write 'em down. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
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