Your Fitness - a fickle BF

One of my nicknames for myself is "Mrs. Bright Side." I try to focus on the positive and be optimistic. I use this blog to try and motivate myself and hopefully others. It really helps me keep moving! Recently I've been thinking about fitness as a state of body and mind. For me, fitness has moved in and out of my life. I look at my children and right now their fitness is as tight to them as their own shadows. Lean and strong they go hand over hand on the monkey bars. They seem to run and play all day without tiring. As a kid I was like that too and I've talked about the change in me as a teenager. I was more concerned with (ahem) other activities than keeping fit.

My fitness is like a fair weather best friend. When I'm working out consistently she sticks by my side. But once I get lazy my fitness is off to the Bahamas, ready to hang out with someone who plays beach volleyball. She's not going to sit around with me, eating potato chips and watching TV. Depending on where you left off and your genetic prowess your fitness may stay with you longer rather than taking off right away. I don't seem to have that luxury. A recent few days off had me feeling slow on the run and ready to give up. Fortunately the upcoming race motivated me to keep going. I could have easily gotten discouraged enough to slide into an exercise funk.

The good news is that with some effort fitness always comes back. I know that I'm building a strong base so I don't go back to square one after a lazy period. It's hard to face but I learned that as I get older I'm going to have to work harder to keep my fitness. She doesn't age like I do and she's very unsympathetic to my excuses, no matter how creative.

For the whippersnappers out there - don't let your fitness go! Follow every exercise trend or stick with what you love. Just don't stop. Ever. Or your fitness and mine will be hanging out together somewhere in the sun and talking about the lazybones they left on the sofa.

Yours in training,
Annette