Exercise and a healthy lifestyle is just that....a "healthy lifestyle" meaning that you just can't be healthy in terms of how good your cardio level is or how much you can bench press. A healthy lifestyle, in my opinion, meets certain criteria. These criteria include......1. fitness and health 2. family life 3. relationships 4. personal time 5. Overall Happiness
Let's break them down......
Fitness and Health: Are you in good shape? Good shape can have many meanings. You could be jacked, be a great runner, or eat extremely healthy. I believe you need a combination of all three. You shouldn't just lift weights and eat hamburgers all day to pack on muscle and protein but look like a slob and you shouldn't just run all the time to get awesome at running. On the other hand, if you eat completely clean and healthy but don't exercise, well then you are missing that piece as well. I believe that fitness and health are a combination of all three and can be combinations of even more. You should be well balanced.....eating, balancing, flexibility, coordination, core, muscles, cardiovascular....you get the point. Don't only be one thing unless that is your career or goal and even then you should have other aspects of your training that incorporate these other things.
Family Life: How often do you see your kids? Play with them? Do you have family dinners or lack the time to do this? Do you set apart a time each week to make sure you are doing the things important to having a happy family and supporting those you love? Do you tell your kids, wife or husband you love them everyday? Family is important to a healthy life and should be made a priority.
Relationships: When is the last time you went on a good date with your loved one or a new person you met. Have you hung out or touched base with your friends and family/cousins? Has life gotten so busy that you miss the things you used to be able to do? Take the time to value those relationships and with proper planning, keep them in your life if it is important to you.
Personal Time: Plain and simple....do you have any time to yourself? What do you enjoy and do you make sure you do it?
Overall Happiness: Are you happy with your life? Your job? Do you wake up everyday with a purpose or meaning, as simple or complex as it may be. Do you laugh or mope around? When is the last time you were happy for more than a couple days straight? If you are not happy or could be happier, do it. A lot of people don't make the necessary efforts to change things they are unhappy with. Yes, it takes work, time, patience.... but it is worth it.
I think about these things everyday and try to make changes and have a positive outlook on every situation. Nothing is ever going to be perfect but things can be better, in fact they can be great. I have a name for myself. I guess you can call it a nickname with a touch of EGO in it. It's "GetGlynnyFit". People used to call me Glynny in high school and still do so I ran with it. I feel that being "GlynnyFit" is making sure that you live a great overall well-balanced healthy lifestyle I am talking about here. No, it doesn't just mean in great physical shape but mental shape as well.
Maybe I am not 100% "GlynnyFit" yet.....but I am working on it and its my name so that's what I call it!