We’ve all experienced it and have even said it many times, “Where did the time go?”
It’s amazing how time flies, even though time moves at the same pace — one second, one minute, one hour, one day and one year at a time for 24/7. Yet, with each passing year and especially around the Christmas holiday, many of us often ask ourselves, “Where did the year go?”
That brings me to the primary message of today’s column; don’t put off tomorrow what you need to do today. And that is to establish a plan to make health and fitness part of your daily routine.
The sooner you get your health and fitness under control, the better prepared you will be when you need it most — if you develop a serious illness, suffer an injury or even be diagnosed with cancer.
A few months ago I lost my father after a horrific two-year battle with end-stage dementia. He was basically bedridden from a stroke.
Living 3,000 miles away, I saw him only a couple times a year. It was extremely difficult to see him in such dire straits.
When I was growing up, he was always an active dad who loved to ski. However, in his mid to late ‘70s he was forced to give up the sport he loved due to knee problems.
Even after knee replacements, he wasn’t able to don a pair of skis. His knees just wouldn’t handle his aggressive style of skiing. As a result, my father didn’t have as much of a desire to stay in shape and thus, let his health and fitness decline by inactivity and poor eating choices, causing health issues and accelerating the aging process.
The best way to assure this doesn’t happen to you is to adopt a lifestyle that includes a routine of daily exercise and healthy food choices. And the best method for doing that is to give yourself and your family members the gift of fitness and health for the New Year.
I’m not talking about the umpteenth attempt at losing short-term weight and body fat, but rather thinking long-term.
We each have the power to decide how we use our spare time.
Once you establish a health and fitness regimen that works for you and the activities become a daily habit, you will no longer need to rely heavily upon will power because your body and mind will be accustomed to the lifestyle and the healthy benefits from the fitness. The intrinsic rewards will keep you coming back for more, and before you know it, the extrinsic rewards of losing body fat, gaining muscular endurance, strength and definition, increased cardiovascular endurance and improved flexibility will follow.
The next thing you know, you will find yourself saying, “Where did the time go?” But this time, you will be happier because you will have your health and fitness!
As my parents always said, “If you have your health and fitness, you have the foundation for a good quality of life, for life!”
That is my primary motivating factor for staying active.
You can’t shelve your health or fitness. You must work to maintain or improve. That’s the basis of the reversability training principle, “Use it or lose.”
So true! Hope you had a very merry Christmas and here’s to a happy, healthy and fit new you in the new year.
Patty Peoples, a former member of the US National Women’s Cycling Team, currently teaches fitness education at Chaffey College. She is the 2012 USAT National Female Overall Sprint Duathlon Champion and the ITU Sprint Duathlon World Champion in her division. She can be reached at p2peakperformance@hotmail.com
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