Make Exercise a Lifelong Priority

Hi Passion Fit Crew! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends. Today’s blog post is about making exercise a lifelong priority. Hopefully many of you are already doing this and even if you’re not or if you’ve had extended periods of your life when exercise hasn’t been a priority (which is completely understandable and can happen to all of us during different phases of our lives), it’s never too late to make a change.

I’ve been teaching fitness and dance classes for many years and in many different settings…large gyms, corporate fitness centers, boutique studios and on preschool, elementary school, high school and college campuses. In doing this, I’ve had the privilege of teaching to children as young as two years old, to adults as old as 75 years old and all ages in between. It truly is amazing to work with people of varying age groups and understand the differences and similarities in their capabilities.

For example, while most children have boundless energy and flexibility, they’re still developing an awareness of their bodies, gross motor skills, strength and balance and regular exercise can help with all of these things. Young adults and middle aged adults will reach or have reached some of their peak fitness capabilities such as strength, balance, stamina and endurance and can likely still maintain that level or a similar level of performance (although adults in middle age may be seeing a slow down in metabolism and may take more time to recover from soreness, especially if they’ve had injuries along the way). Older adults may be seeing a decline in muscle tissue and bone density and could also have less balance, strength or stamina than before, which means exercise takes on a different meaning of keeping these bodily changes at bay or trying to reverse them altogether.

All that said, the one underlying similarity is that exercise in some form is extremely important for your body at any age and therefore, should be something you prioritize throughout your life to help achieve overall happiness and good health. It may allow you to stay active, continue to enjoy your favorite activities throughout your life, help prevent various types of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, etc. and increase your longevity.

There are many different ways to make exercise a lifelong priority such getting out and walking, running, biking, hiking, skiing and snowboarding, joining a gym and taking classes regularly such as yoga, cycling, cardio conditioning, strength/sculpt and dance, working out with a personal trainer, signing up for a race or event and joining a training team for that event, joining a sports league or exercising with home equipment.

However, it’s important to also have a committed mindset when it comes to exercise and you’ll likely have to work hard to make it a regular part of your day, week, month and life in general. The key is to find activities you really enjoy and mix up the activities to prevent burnout or boredom.

Bottom line, keep it simple, fresh, fun and consistent and remember to make exercise a lifelong priority. That’s it for today, friends. I wish you all the happiest and healthiest of holidays with your loved ones!