JUNE 27, 2009 -- What’s scarier than being chased through an abandoned circus late at night by a crazed naked clown? How about looking up from the operating table to see your state senator with a scalpel in hand, ready to assist in your appendectomy?
In today's confusing and evolving healthcare system it behooves you to take the responsibility for your own health. You're going to have to develop your own plan and "self-insure" by staying healthy and avoid using whatever healthcare "system" our ingenious politicians come up with.
My advice is simple. Put your own plan in motion. And what better time to do so as we leave June Gloom behind and get ready to enjoy all that San Diego has to offer?
The possibilities are endless. You can walk Balboa Park. Walk the dog at Coronado’s Dog Beach. Walk your East Village block. Ride your bike along the Embarcadero. Catch a wave at Windansea. Run the next marathon. Lift weights at FIT. Take yoga at The Little Yoga Studio. Climb Cowles Mountain. You get my point.
The first steps are to get up, get serious and get fit. Rise up from the sofa, onto your feet and into this beautiful city. As long as you find something to do you really enjoy—even if it’s running away from naked clowns—it won’t feel like a chore to you. You have to get your body moving and the best way to do that is by doing something fun. Hey, even a great romp in the hay counts as exercise.
There’s nothing like the feeling of being strong and in shape. But once you get there that doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay healthy. Taking care of yourself should be your first priority. I’ve been in the fitness industry—instructing classes and personal training—for more than 20 years. I’m as strong as they come, but I’m not immune to disease. Should I develop a life-threatening health issue (like cancer—which found all my grandparents—I’d much rather have the opportunity to fight it from a point of strength than weakness.
There are no guarantees. But if you start taking care of your body now, and put a plan in place, you’ll improve your current fitness level. Don’t kid yourself. Your body is always in a constant state of being. You are either progressing or you are regressing. There is no stagnation in health.
Make your plan and enlist some support. If moving your body by yourself isn’t your forte, then get some help. Call a friend, join a gym, hire a personal trainer, sign up for lessons in a new sport or join a recreational league, just get out there and move your body.
And by the way, running late is not exercise!
(Connie Cook is a freelance writer and fitness director at FIT Athletic Club. When she's not working out she’s stomping grapes in her bath tub or laying the groundwork for an insanity defense.)
