Fitness

What is fitness?

  • Fitness is your overall ability to sustain your physical exertion without excessive tiredness or fatigue. It relates to the ability to perform both physical activities and tasks of daily life. Everyone has a different level of fitness and point at which they reach fatigue.

How to improve fitness?

Fitness improves overtime by increasing the activities and physical work you perform. No matter your level of fitness, fitness increases by pushing yourself and your body slightly more each time, over a period of time. Exerting yourself slightly more than previous on a repetitive basis will improve your fitness overtime.

 How you increase what you do to improve your fitness depends on your own personal health, ability and level of fitness. Think at what you currently do now that increases your heart rate, demand for air and possibly makes you break out a sweat.

  • Could you sustain that activity for 10 minutes longer each time?
  • Could you perform that activity more often?

Changing up your current routine and trying to push yourself to do more can aim to improve your fitness. What specifically you do is based on your current level.

Examples:

If you currently do very little activity during your day and easily increase your heart rate with walking.

  • Could you go for a 10 minute walk each day where you are walking at a speed that is slightly beyond your comfort zone?
  • Could you push that to a 30 minute walk?
  • Could you add in a minute jog every time you walk?
  • Could you build on that minute jog, either making it last two minutes or jogging for 2 X 1 minute?

Even if you believe you have a low level of fitness. With small gradual increase you can build up with regular activity that slowly increases in intensity.

You may believe you are very fit, and although you continue to exercise and train, you find your fitness level plateaus.

Our mind fatigues and tells us to stop when our body is only at 10% fatigue. Our bodies can push through a further 90% but a mind tells us to stop!

So how do we overcome this? How do we push past fatigue? Changing our fitness regime to work different muscles can help increase fitness faster.

Training with other people can help expose ourselves to different exercises that we would not usually try. Also, training with other people can help us push beyond our own levels of fatigue. There are many ways to train with some one else.

Training with Someone Else:

Find a Training Buddy:

Find a friend or an acquaintance that is of similar fitness level to you and suggest working out together. Having someone to workout with benefits the two of you in multiple ways.

It creates a social element to working out. You both bring new ideas and suggestions regarding training methods. And a second person can help you push yourself further.

If doing weight training the other person can spot for you. (Spot: support by watching the weight and being ready to lift the weight away if the person doing the weight training is unable to). Having a spotter makes it safer for you to attempt heavier weights. Being able to lift until you reach your max will help increase you fitness levels.

Personal Trainer (PT):

Find a local trainer who will be able to push you to improve your fitness. Often other people can push us further then we would push ourselves. PT’s can be a great way to have someone to train with. PT’s will correct technique so you can get the most out of exercises. They can also bring a surplus of new exercises and activities.

Doing new exercises puts stress on your body and muscles. Changing exercises every couple of weeks will be able to boost your fitness levels as your body can become used to the same exercises. An experienced PT will challenge you, mix up your routine- bringing fun and novelty to the workout and bring knowledge to boost your fitness.

Not all of us can afford a personal trainer though. Other options include:

Group training can be a great way to push yourself to improve your fitness

Group classes or Group PT:

Most Gyms have classes that are available to both members and guests to the gym. Classes can be a more economic way to be able to be pushed by a personal trainer whilst working out with others. The fun atmosphere and motivation from exercising with others can lead to a more rewarding workout.

Scheduled classes also creates a time you must be present for you workout. This reduces your ability to put off going or else the class will be missed. No more saying “I’ll go to the gym or workout later.” Instead there are other members of the class and the PT who will expect you will go. If your gym has a booking in system this can be good to use. Book into the class at the start of the day so you are committed for later in the day when you might not be so keen. Or book in the night before so in the morning you cannot opt for a longer sleep in.  

Examples:

  • Boxing
  • Step Classes
  • Zumba
  • Body Pump
  • Yoga
  • Pilates
  • Cycle classes
  • Boot camps

Group Training:

There are so many groups you can get involved in. Most communities have local running groups or other similar exercise groups. A quick internet search or through social media can easily help find a group you’re interested in joining. This has the benefit of both social interaction, unity, fun and a sense of belonging.

Different areas will have different groups depending on location. For example- open water swimming groups will only be near beaches or other open water where swimming is possible. Most community groups are like minded people wanting others to exercise with. There is often no cost or little cost- (Such a swimming you will still have to pay to access the pool, or may cost to hire equipment).

 Examples:
  • Running Groups
  • Walking Groups
  • Swimming Groups
  • Open Water Swimming
  • Ta Chi or Yoga outside
  • Hiking Groups
  • Rock Climbing outdoors or in a center

Join a Sport:

There is nothing like healthy competition to push ourselves that little bit further and get our heart racing. Why as Adults do we stop playing the sports we loved as Children. Often other commitments get in the way of plying sport on the weekends.

Joining a social league that is played during the week can be more accessible. Most social leagues have different diversions or are more focused on fun then winning. Great for trying out a new sport or playing an old loved sport you haven’t played in years.

In Summary:

Fitness is your overall ability to perform tasks and actions without reaching fatigue. Improving fitness requires effort to push yourself that extra 10%. Sometimes it can be hard to push yourself that extra 10% by yourself- so above are all suggestions of ways to train with others to push yourself further.

  • To improve fitness you need to push yourself that extra 10% in each of your workouts
  • Working out with others can be one may to help push yourself.
  • You can workout with others by
    • Finding a training buddy
    • Getting a PT
    • Joining gym classes or PT group fitness
    • Joining in on community group training
    • Joining a sport.

Key to improving fitness is not reaching fatigue- it is pushing that extra 10% passed fatigue.