Fitness

"Exercise will add years to your life, and even if it doesn't -- it sure will add life to your years."
-Robert P. Whearty

Everyone seems to have a view on fitness.  Ancient Greek philosophers believed that a healthy body was a requirement for a  healthy mind.  Being fit doesn't mean "big muscles".  Being fit means total body fitness which includes conditioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and skeletal muscles.  By being fit, we will have the ability to rapidly transform energy into work.  We will be able to perform tasks more efficiently without undue fatigue, and have extra energy for contingencies, emergencies, as well as leisure time pursuits.  Those of us who have demanding occupations (I am a volunteer fire fighter, EMT, and state guard soldier) must possess the physical ability to endure, to withstand stress, and to carry on when an unfit person would not be able to.

Heart disease, an umbrella term for a number of different diseases which affect the heart, is the leading cause of death in the United States as of 2007.  A high percentage of these deaths could have possibly been prevented, or at least delayed, if the victims had been regular exercisers.  Medical research suggests that physically fit people have fewer heart attacks than sedentary people.  And even if the do suffer a heart attack, they stand a better chance of surviving and recovering more quickly.

A regular personal exercise program can:

• Increase the efficiency and capacity of your lungs, heart, and other organs.
• Increase the size and number of the blood vessels throughout your body.
• Provide more oxygen to your body tissues.
• Give you more energy.
• Improve your ability to cope with stress.
• Increase your resistance to fatigue.
• Help counter your anxiety and depression.
• Help you to relax and feel less tense.
• Tone and strengthen your joints.
• Improve your ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep more soundly.
• Improve your posture, and in many cases prevent or correct back pain.
• Improve your self-image and self-esteem.
• Help control your appetite.
• Burn off calories to help you lose extra pounds or maintain your ideal weight.
• Provide an easy way for you to share an activity with friends or family and an opportunity to meet new friends.

Having a personal exercise program can really make some improvements in your life.  IN short, your body will work better, you will look better, you will be more energetic, you will do your job better, and you will just feel better about yourself.

*Weight is current.  Other metrics are dated. See Tracking Chart.