as most of you know, i have been in the gym "business" for a long time in some form or fashion. the gym "owner" part is fairly recent - at least as a full time thing - but the gym GOER is just a part of who i am. and it seems odd that at the ripe old age of 53, i am still having the very same conversations about consistency and expectations that i started having as a fresh faced instructor 25 years ago.
here is the deal: fitness (mental and physical) is a lifelong exercise. if you are lucky, you start young and understand that feeling good physically helps you feel better mentally and emotionally. but sometimes that is not how it works. often we are taught at a young age that physical activity is only valuable in how it makes you LOOK - we focus on the physical aspects of exercise as a stand alone. so if you find a way to LOOK the way you want without exercising, you somehow still think you are ahead of the game.
I am not well; and yet I look in good health. ~Lord Byron, 1814
i am here to tell you that just is not true. or not the only truth. FITNESS is journey - not a destination. you never get THERE - wherever there happens to be for you. it is a decision, day in/day out, month in/month out, year in and year out, to make your health a priority. it is not easy. IT IS NEVER EASY. it does get EASIER - you get stronger, you feel better, you find friends that are in it with you. but i promise NONE of us - those crazy lifelong exercisers you think you know that LOVE the gym - find it easy. we struggle the same way you do - do i need to go to the gym today? whats the harm if i just stop for a while? does it really matter if show up or not? and guess what? you DO need to go, there is harm if you stop and YES, showing up matters. sometimes it is ALL that matters.
Health and cheerfulness are brothers. ~Proverbs, William Hardcastle Browne, 1900
why my high horse again this year? i am getting older. which means the people in my life are also getting older. and as we get older, it is much easier to see the long term effects of both exercising and NOT exercising. in your 20s & 30s, you can get away with a lot. you have nice skin and your body tends to bounce back from most of the abuse you put it thru. you have other priorities and can rationalize NOT. not going to the gym. not walking. not eating right. and for the most part, you just keep getting on with it. BUT. one day you will wake up and realize that you are not, in fact, healthy. you might be skinny. you might look ok. but maybe you are struggling with your mental health. maybe you cant get up and down off the floor easily to play with your kids (or do your job). maybe you have a health scare. whatever it happens to be, you will wake up one day and need to figure out where to start physically taking care of your body.
and guess what friends, you think it sucks trying to exercise when you are fairly healthy (and young) to begin with? its 1000x worse if you are starting from a place of poor health and physical limitations. it can be done.....but you gotta REALLY want it then. because like everything else in life, you dont get to just be done. you dont get to stop worrying about your kids. or paying your bills. you dont get to stop making dinner or figuring out what to eat. you dont get to stop doing all the things you do everyday that make up all the components of your life. and once you start exercising, you dont get to stop. and eventually, you wont want to (i promise).
we live in a society that values appearance above all things. we are constantly trying to find the next best "quick fix" that will solve all of our problems. especially when it comes to how we look. we are happy to sacrifice lots of things in order to fit some ideal of what we "should" look like. and unfortunately often times what we actually sacrifice is our health. we cut carbs, we take pills, we take shots, we have surgery - all in the pursuit of looking good. when what we should be focusing on is FEELING good. and not in a "i feel good because i look good" kind of way. truly feeling good. like my systems are all in balance. i cope with stress. i sleep. i enjoy my food. i can do all the things i choose to do without worrying about how my body will be able to handle it.
My definition of fitness is to be able to carry out all of the activities in life that you desire, plus have a physical reserve at the end of the day to do something besides lie down and flip the remote. If you can do all that, if you're functional, then you're fit. It doesn't matter if you have great abs or can bench-press your body weight. Those things have nothing to do with real life. ~James Glinn
do we exercisers have issues - OF COURSE we do. we struggle like everyone else. and we have pain, just like everyone else. bad shoulders, bad knees, inflexibility, all the normal shit. the difference is, we know that it would be so much worse if we werent fit to begin with. we know that prioritizing our health is IMPORTANT - not selfish. making time to be healthy is one of the best things you can do. that doesnt mean you have to join a gym. or spend money on it. it means MAKING THE TIME for your fitness. everyone can walk. and sit to stand out of a chair. pushup against a wall. there are free yoga apps and walking apps and stretching apps. in this day and age, you don't have to leave your house to be fit. you just have to be willing to make the time.
because one day (hopefully in the very distance future) you wont be able to. aging is not for the faint of heart. one day you will wake up in your 70s .... and either get up out of bed and keep on getting it - or you will ring for help because you cant do it yourself. the choices you make now will determine how you spend your later years. if you are lucky, you will spend them hanging with your friends and family - golfing and swimming and enjoying the adventures you spent your whole life earning. if you are not, you will rely on a walker or scooter, or wake up in pain on the regular. and while it is not my job to tell you how to live your life, it is my job to let you know what it looks like on the other side of bad health choices. it is very easy to live a young life. it is very difficult to live an old life. and whether you live a young or old life is not necessarily determined by your age. it is determined by your health.
as we enter a new year, make this one where you commit to your health. or recommit. find an accountability partner if that helps you. start a journal. use the tools around you to help keep you moving. just START. the starting is the hardest part.here is my 2c of reality (and judgement). shit happens. it happens to all of us. 2024 had one of the best experiences of my life, and one of the worst. and neither made the gym better or worse. the gym helped me enjoy the first and cope with the second. because it is just a part of who i am. and i know that there are days/weeks/months that i may not want to keep going, i am committed to it. and that commitment rewards me in the long term.
2023 i worked out 313 days. i started a gym business and had the normal ups and downs. 2024 i worked out 308 days. had a wedding and a funeral and all the things associated with both. you make excuses or you find reasons. make 2025 the year you find your reasons.
