Health and Fitness for Life

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Health

Health is a funny thing. It is given to us as a child and we enjoy it without
any appreciation for having the ability to do what we want to physically. We
run, jump, skip and just have a ball with the energy and fitness we have without
having to work for it.



Life

As we grow into our early twenties, most of us slow down from our most active
years and don't get as much 'natural' exercise. We walk less, definitely run
less and for the most part, 'settle in' to a more comfortable life of going to
work and, eating on the run, then getting home in time to watch TV all night.
(not too much exercise in that, except for the thumb - changing channels)



Fitness

As we approach and enter our thirties, we tend to gain a bit of weight, lose
some muscle composition, and begin to notice that climbing a couple of flights
of stairs leaves us 'catching our breath'. This is the beginning of a long,
downward spiral of loss of health and fitness that slowly sneaks up in us - the
next thing we know we are in our early forties and some of our friends are
talking about the best blood pressure pills or anxiety reducing medications over
lunch. What has happened?





Simple Daily Strategies

The best way to stop the plight of health decline is to begin with some simple
daily strategies. One of the biggest reasons that health improvement products
are everywhere is that humans have a tendency to look for the 'quick fix' and
avoid having to commit to any long term fitness activity. We begin a diet or
fitness program that lasts for twelve weeks and three days into it we
rationalize that the timeframe of the program doesn't justify the commitment -
so we quit and forget about our health until the next reminder shows up.



The solution is to create a short list of simple daily strategies that will keep
us involved with making healthy choices, without causing us to give in and give
up. Some examples of this strategy are to take the stairs instead of the
elevator, park a block from work and walk the extra five minutes, throw a couple
of apples in your bag to take to work so you stay away from the vending machine.



Some other ideas are:

- Do a little yard work instead of sitting down on the couch after work.

- Walk the golf course instead of renting a cart.

- Put a set of hand weights on the floor at the base of your

About the Author

Andrew Constantine is the editor for several informational fitness sites. See
more articles atwww.Solutions-in-Elliptical-Trainers.com