Marie Anagnostis on why right now is the best time to start getting in shape
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Yes…RIGHT NOW…looking down the barrel of the silliest of seasons…when I COULD NOT POSSIBLY SQUEEZE IN ONE MORE ACTIVITY RIGHT NOW AND ARE YOU KIDDING ME I DON’T EVEN HAVE TIME TO READ THIS!!!
Like I said: “hear me out” *ducks for cover*
At my studios 99 percent of the reason for non-attendance is TIME. No time. Too busy. Nope, can’t come. Number 937 on my to-do list. Kids/work/family/end of year chaos/Christmas/menty-b.
The other one percent is members not wanting to hear my shit about RIGHT NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO GET IN SHAPE.
While you weren’t looking and/or rocking back and forth in the corner, the narrative of the fitness world has changed. A LOT. Gone are the days when the expectation was going to the gym sweating it out for hours on the gym floor, pushing and grinding like you were training for the Olympic Games.
And while this is still a perfectly acceptable option, the reality is the majority I encounter neither have the time nor inclination for this brutalist style of training, and from my experience this mindset is a roadblock to getting started in the first place.
SO WHY IS RIGHT NOW THE BEST TIME TO START GETTING IN SHAPE?
Because if you can maintain some trash-fire semblance of a fitness routine in the most chaotic of times, you are more likely to adhere to your fitness routine consistently and *checks calendar* forever. Because there is no perfect time. There will literally never be in the history of the world an uninterrupted stretch of time where you can simply focus on yourself. There is always something AM-I-RIGHT?
As an industry in 2023 today we are about promoting longevity. Consistency. Something is better than nothing. The ability to live a functional life by being able to complete everyday activities comfortably: like getting off the floor without breaching for 30 minutes, carrying your groceries to the car in one trip, walking up a set of stairs without requiring defibrillation, chasing down the bus and being able to catch the damn thing, getting out of bed without crunching like autumn leaves. This doesn’t even touch on the mental health benefits or the medical benefits that an active lifestyle provides.
TELL ME HOW AND HURRY *TAPS WATCH*
Here are three options to getting started RIGHT NOW:
Find your closest fitness facility
The fact of the matter is that location matters. We are aiming for ZERO roadblocks to attending the gym, including distance. If it’s convenient you’re more likely to go. If you are limited on time you don’t want to be using that time travelling. Do group classes. Lift a weight. Use a bike. Only got 20 minutes. PERFECT! 20 minutes it is.
Download an app
There is no shortage of fitness apps, YouTube videos and other resources online. Honestly, choose anything and go for it. A dance tutorial? A circuit workout? Yoga? Do it for five minutes.
Prioritise physical activity
Where there is the option to move, move – take the manual option over the automated one: can you walk instead of drive? Take the stairs instead of the lift? Do a walk-and-talk with a friend instead of a sit-down café catch-up (I’m not a psychopath, still grab the coffee). Incidental exercise like this is equally as important as going to the gym. Read that again.
These three options are designed to be minimum friction available at a time and place no matter where you are and what life throws at you to make exercise an everyday part of your life (see: kids/work/family/end of year chaos/Christmas/menty-b).
Ooooo and if life does throw you something, do a couple of squats with it and throw it back.
