Just Gym & No Activity = Unfit

Going to the gym three times a week can still leave you surprisingly unfit. I know that sounds almost sacrilegious in the fitness world. But I see this distinction quite often.

Someone spends 45 minutes lifting weights, finishes a workout, feels accomplished and then spends the next 10 hours sitting like a well-trained office chair. Another person may not have a gym membership at all. But they walk after meals, take the stairs, play with their children, carry their own groceries and keep moving throughout the day.

So, who is actually fitter? The answer isn't as simple as counting gym sessions.

I don't dislike gyms. Far from it. As we get older, strength training becomes increasingly important for maintaining muscle, mobility and independence. But I don't want fitness to become something that happens only after you put on your workout clothes. That’s the idea behind “Everyday Athlete.”

Someone who can walk comfortably, Lift something from the floor without negotiating with their lower back, Climb a flight of stairs without seeing their life flash before their eyes, Play a sport, Travel, Carry their luggage, Get up from the floor and still have enough energy left to actually enjoy the day. The gym is a tool.

Fitness is the capacity to live well outside the gym. Because ultimately, the goal isn't to become really good at exercising for one hour. It is to become really good at living for the other 23.