What Does Being Fit Mean? The LIFE Standard
When you start working with a fitness coach, or any fitness professional, the first question is “What would you like to achieve?” Your answer would usually be “I want to get fit.” It sounds super easy and simple, right? But what does “being fit” mean?
According to the American College of Sports and Medicine (ACSM), “being fit” can be defined as “the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and meet unforeseen emergencies.”
Getting fit will help you lead a healthier lifestyle. You will live longer, feel better, and perform better. Being fit will help you with all aspects of your life.
To help you define what “being fit” means to yourself, let us use the LIFE Standard that I have personally come up with. Alright, Phung. What is it? The LIFE Standard is the principle that I personally come up with to build a lifestyle that supports your goals, your priorities, and even your cultural background.
Summary
What Being Fit Means: L stands for lavish
You can be real with yourself to build the healthy habits you need, so you can live up to your standards. To get fit, you need to get active. This means you need to get your body moving. It does not matter how you do it, but if you go without activity too long, lethargy will start taking over and you will find it hard to enjoy life.
Lavish means building healthy lifestyle habits that work with your schedule and preferences. If you want to lead a healthier, happier, and more productive life, it is never too early to start. Sometimes we feel like we need to wait until we have reached a certain age or until we have a problem. That could not be further from the truth. You should start investing in health as soon as you can.
With all this being said, you do not have to upend your current lifestyle. Even if you are not athletic, changes are easy to make to have a healthier body. Instead of going for the big fish, go for smaller goals that you can 100% accomplish.
What Being Fit Means: I stands for intention
Know and understand the most up-to-date science-based information on your health and fitness. You do not have to jump from fad exercise to the next influencer’s program, leaving yourself exhausted in the dust.
By being intentional with what you do, you are on the way to being fit. Instead of following the new trend, focus on what your body truly needs. From doing this shiny new fitness challenge, try to see what exercises that you can possibly do. You can start by basing things on your experience in the gym or PE class at school.
Ever wonder why being fit just seems too daunting? Maybe because you don’t know your exercise type (^人^)
What Being Fit Means: F stands for finesse
Invest in yourself for a brighter future. Enhance your healthy habits to fit into your wants and needs. Getting fit does not have to be insanely hard. It’s about being smart about your fitness routine.
Work, jobs, family, and partners can all take away from the time needed to be healthy. Find an activity that you enjoy and keep doing it for at least 3 months.
You do not have to settle for mediocrity. Judge your activity on two requirements, “Are you have fun doing it?” and “Does it give you pain?” Your quality of life will improve when you take up activities you enjoy doing.
What Being Fit Means: E stands for everlasting
Life happens. Your healthy habits will stick with you forever despite the chaos raging outside. You must create an everlasting system that can adapt to your new challenges is essential to keep being fit as a part of your life.
A strong, effective system has to be personal to you. It has to reflect your habits, the results you want to see, and the lifestyle you will lead. Build a foundation of good habits to build on.
Let us say your “being fit” means you can wake up energetically and have time to play with your three cats. Create a health system that includes playing with cats, an activity that you can do. All this on top of your regular exercise routine. Do your cats also like to walk the neighborhood? Maybe give that a try.
Why do I encourage you to include cats in your exercise routine? In case you have a huge deadline coming up and think you have no energy for exercise, your cats will help you get moving. Is that not efficient? It is your timeless system.
“Being fit” can mean differently depending on the person you ask. You are a unique person who deserves your definition. You do not have to fit into others’ shoes to be successful, in terms of fitness or anything in life.
So yes, tabbies. That is all about how you can define “being fit” to your own definition using the LIFE Standard. What do you think about it? Let me know.
