Fitness is not always a mastery of one element. In fact, most athletes in the world are regular people who just like to move a whole lot.
I had a conversation with my brother about this once. He, like many others, knows the value of exercise but doesn’t care for gyms. He’s not big on running either, or cycling, or most other conventional forms of exercise. He is passionate about music, art, people, and fun. He loves getting a group together to get a party started; loves meeting new people, sharing stories and creating some kind of unforgettable experience. He brings so much infectious energy to any social interaction it was impossible for me to comprehend how he didn’t have any left over to get his ass sweating a little more!
“… so what about yoga?”
“It’s okay.“
“…what about a spin class or something? They usually blast music in those things!”
“On a bike? Nah…”
“Hm…”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like exercising I guess. But I’ve been to festivals before and haven’t stopped dancing for like 5-8 straight hours.”
And there it was. We went on to talk about dance and how much fun it is. We discussed ways he could plug himself into some dance classes or just make 20-40mins of “shakin’ it” a part of his daily routine. It was awesome. It felt like some kind of breakthrough.
As a fitness professional I often need to remind myself that not everyone is a move-a-holic. Sometimes people would love to be, but work and family commitments often get in the way. This is not to say the world is comprised of only couch potatoes and exercise junkies. I find that most people are somewhere in the middle. Everyone knows you are supposed to exercise if you want to be healthy. The sad thing is, as a society, we have branded exercise as a sweaty, stinky hour of your life that you need to sacrifice on a stationary bike next to some grunting meathead in a cramped gym. No thanks.
I challenge anyone who struggles with getting enough exercise in their life to throw on “September” by Earth Wind & Fire and see how long you can sit still. Now try to do it with a frown on your face.
I realize that we are not all going to take up dance as our go-to activity of choice, but why not give it a try?
The most successful people are the ones who find what they love and run with it. You don’t have to just have one thing either. After much personal soul searching I figured out that I am a soccer, football, volleyball and baseball player, surfer, snowboarder, climber, hiker, biker, runner, weightlifter, dancer, and a bit of a yogi. I am no expert at ANY of these things but I am definitely an expert in movement. As an expert I can say for certain that the body benefits most from a wide variety of activity and different, dynamic movement types.
Think back when you were a kid, what sorts of active things did you like to do? Climb trees? Build forts? Wrestle? Jump on a trampoline? We did all these things because they were fun, not because we were trying to get a workout. We weren’t thinking about how many calories we were burning or what muscles we were targeting. We were active because this was how we had fun with our friends! It just so happens that these years of play are some of the most important developmental years of your life.
In the past few years alone, the types of exercise methods and fitness services available have absolutely exploded! There are leagues for every sport, there are clubs and social groups for pretty much every outdoor activity. There are even places where you can go for a 1hr cardio rave before work.
If you haven’t found the kind of sweatiness that makes you tick, trust me, it exists, keep looking! Odds are there are some awesome people who will be very excited to build a fort with you.
Ben Carr
Professional Training Coach
Innovative Fitness Kitsilano
www.InnovativeFitness.com
