It seems to us that the barrier to getting in shape for most people is mental/emotional not physical. How can you change into a person who finds it ‘fun’ to exercise?! Well maybe you already know or at the very least suspect the truth.
Exercise that matters…is challenging.
With any activity you do for fun you naturally do it at your present level of ability or near to it. Maybe there is a bit of a learning curve at the beginning but you are in a groove fairly soon and then you have fun.
That last paragraph is perhaps the most important statement on exercise you will ever need to know. Activity is only one component of exercise and exercise only works only if it truly challenges your present ability. There is no way around this physiological fact.
With an activity like running, volleyball, swimming, biking etc you will get better here and there but that is skill increase not actual increases in general fitness. You may feel stronger, faster, more agile, more enduring at your activity but it will have next to no cross over to the rest of your life.
Skill is specific, strength is general.
Getting good at tennis will not make you a good basketball player. There is way less cross over between sports than you may think. The confusion comes from how many people are not active at all. Sedentary people confuse the situation because it’s tougher to go from zero to any sport than from sport to sport. You don’t ‘get in shape’ just going from the couch to say jogging, you just stop falling apart faster than is normal for a human.
Look at it this way being active is human normal (we evolved to move often) sedentary is sick and regular exercise + an active lifestyle is fit. Thus even if you don’t find the exercise of getting strong your idea of fun you will still love the results. It depends on your personality how you perceive the toughness of challenging your body to improve but there is no doubt you will reap the rewards.
Be well, be strong,
Andrew and Tierney
wefit.ca 