Fitness in the Round Success !!

Last night we had our first “Fitness in the Round Meeting” of 2011 here at The Spa on Green Street, it was a great success. Everyone arrived enthusiastic, excited and full of appreciation for the opportunity to gain education and connect with others who have chosen to take on the daunting task of making “permanent lifestyle changes”.   We discovered over the course of our very short time together, that each one of us has many things to learn and that we each have the ability to make a difference to others.  The sun had set on a great day and signaled a new start for all of us, a new mindset is emerging.

Our country is currently in the middle of a massive health crisis, mostly due to “lifestyle” related diseases, preventable diseases. The only way we can make a difference on a larger scale is to create connections and communities where health and wellness are priorities, and exercise is not considered an option. Exercise can look different for each of us, depending on our goals, physical abilities and our interests. It does not have to look like spending every Wednesday in the gym or slinging around heavy weights to a video in your living room.  Exercise is not about getting in a workout on Wednesday, it is about adding 20 years to your life! If we can look at getting active as a way of extending our lives with quality living, maybe we can find the motivation and inspiration to do so.

A great man passed away recently who lived this motto to the very end, Jack Lalane. He was a heavy child who fell in love with physical fitness in his teens and lived every day as an example to others, an inspiration! He set out to do things that nobody had done relative to group exercise and fitness instruction. He leaves behind an amazing legacy, he revolutionized the world of fitness and created many of the fitness tools we all use today. The last few years of his life were lived vibrantly, not in a nursing home carting around oxygen tanks and various other external containers. Isn’t that how we all want to live our lives?  What we choose to do each day will be the example we set for our children and grandchildren. If we can change the course of OUR future relative to OUR  health we can lift a  great financial and physical burden off of our loved ones, and hopefully break the cycle of disease and create  a legacy of health for our descendants.

 The following are a few questions we left with our group to ponder over the next few weeks . Please take the time to answer these questions and feel free to make any comments or ask any further questions. We will be providing solutions along the way to help with the challenges we face when we are making long lasting lifestyle changes. Hope to see you on February 22,2011 at 6pm for another great Fitness in the Round meeting!

• What have been the biggest obstacles to achieving your fitness goals?
• What is your biggest concern relative to exercise: time, energy, money, motivation?
• What is your biggest challenge when it comes to eating healthy?
• What percentage of ingredients do you understand when you read food labels?
• Do you pay attention to how you feel after you eat? Are you aware of how certain food affect your body?
• Do you know which foods are good to eat and which ones you should be avoiding? Ie: healthy fats, sweeteners, salt, natural foods, soy, etc….