What is Fitness?

Canice and mom Jo, at 89 years young, staying fit through healthy eating and exercising. Photo taken in front of Rome's Trevi Fountain this summer.

By Canice Barbone, co-owner of Ultimate Fitness Bootcamp in La Verne

By definition:   A state of health, characteristics, symptoms and behaviors enabling a person to have the highest quality of life.   That sounds pretty good doesn’t it?  The amazing thing about fitness is that the majority of people can obtain it.  Fitness is within your reach, you just need to reach out, learn about it and just get started.

Let’s first take a look at what “NOT” being fit offers:      13.5 million people have heart disease.   8 million people have diabetes (type II).  50 million people have high blood pressure.   121 million (2/3 of U.S. Pop.) are overweight.   60 million people  (1/3 of U.S. Pop.) are obese.  250,000 hip fractures each year.   95,000 new cases of colon cancer each year.  The numbers are staggering, and studies provide evidence that obesity is in epidemic proportions.  That is scary.

Now let’s take a look at what “BEING” fit offers:  Fitness keeps muscles strong and joints moving.  Fitness increases energy levels and helps control weight.  Fitness improves self image and psychological well-being.  Fitness boosts your mood, decreases stress and depression.  Fitness slows down the aging process and “adds life to your years, and years to your life”.  Fitness reduces coronary risk and cholesterol.  Fitness increases metabolic function, bone density and improves posture and spinal health.

Other benefits include:  cardiovascular conditioning and endurance, improved aerobic capacity, flexibility and improved body composition.  Fitness helps prevent injuries and back problems.  Fitness enhances work, recreation and sports performance.  Fitness promotes restful sleep and overall quality of life.

The cost of being UNFIT and UNHEALTHY is far greater than any cost of becoming FIT and maintaining FITNESS in your life.   I personally believe that each person has a responsibility and obligation to take care of their body, health and life.   The more proactive a person is in the care of their health and life, the less likely they will be to suffer from illness, disease, medical care and costs, and ultimately live a poor quality of life.

Health care in this country is expensive.  Premiums for medical coverage for an individual or family are at an all time high.  The cost of medications, treatments, hospitalization, therapies, etc, is rising because of the outrageous numbers of unhealthy people in this country.  They are putting an overload and demand on the system resulting in higher costs for everyone.   Healthy and fit individuals are not the cause of expensive health care.   Common sense tells us that if this country were more health conscious, more concerned with the foods we eat, more concerned with our fitness level, more concerned with the Quality of our Lives, we would all benefit.  Health care costs would begin to decrease, there would less demand on emergency rooms and hospitals, less prescription drugs prescribed for illness and disease, and much more.

The bottom line is that the majority of health related illness and disease IS preventable.  How you say?   By taking control of YOUR life.  By taking responsibility for your health, wellness and quality of life before it is too late.   Adding exercise of any kind into your daily routine can begin to change your health right away.  The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of activity most days of the week to help prevent illness and disease such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and much more.   You can change your health, fitness level and life – It is a decision.   You can decide to be unfit, unhealthy and eventually ill, or you can decide to take charge of your own destiny and become fit and healthy.

Here are a few tips on how to get started:

1)      Make a list of the areas of fitness or health you want to improve upon.  Read materials or talk to a professional fitness trainer on the type of things you can do to begin making those changes.

2)      Get out of the rut you are in.  Whether it is mental, physical or emotional.  Ruts can bring us down and keep us down.  Get yourself around people who are high energy, who workout, who are already fit, and let them help you rise up!

3)      Don’t try to change your life, weight and health in 1 week.   Fitness and improved health take some time.  It took time to put on extra weight, body fat and inches, and weakened health was a process as well.   Understand that this NEW path you are on is a journey, one day at a time, and will lead to improved health, fitness and quality of life.  Be patient and stay focused it will happen.

4)      Begin an exercise routine that combines cardiovascular conditioning and development and strength training.  Do not let anyone convince you differently.  The combination of both is needed for optimum health.

5)      Understand that you will need to make better nutritional choices, limit alcohol and quit smoking.

Bottom line:   Health, nutrition and exercise are the keys to a more improved quality of life.  Your body is your car and you need to drive it for a long time…………….Fitness is the key.   

As a personal service to LaVerneOnline.com readers, Canice invites all your fitness and personal training questions, with the simple goal of expanding your mind/body/life performance and enjoyment  through health and exercise. Canice can be reached at (909) 392-9099, 1328 Palomares – La Verne

Fitness assessments and consultations are complimentary, but by appointment only.

There's no stopping Canice and her Mother Jo, here seen catching a train in Florence, Italy. By staying fit, you can continue to travel and see the world at your leisure.