What Does Fitness Mean To You?

Gaining muscle. Losing fat. Looking good. Feeling great. It's different for everyone, but ask yourself, what does fitness mean to you? Your answer shapes your goals, and your goals shape the outcome, so it's easy to see why the answer to this seemingly simple little question packs quite the hefty punch.

Maybe you want to get stronger. Maybe you have an athletic competition to train for. Maybe you want to improve the way your body feels. Heck, maybe you just want to look good naked.

All of these are fantastic reasons to get up and get active. But for each goal, you will need to evaluate the path necessary to achieve it. The way you work out to lose fat is not the same way you would work out to get stronger. Likewise, if you're training for a marathon, your fitness needs will be different than someone training for a crossfit competition.

It's all relative to the individual, or more specifically, the individual fitness goal.

Spending some time introspecting, as well as talking to your doctor, trainer, or nutritionist about your fitness goals is a helpful exercise to help you figure out what your specific wants and needs are.

So what can you do when you have that information? Well, then comes the fun part!

You can begin to create a path to help you achieve them.

What do you need to do to reach your end goal? What time constraints do you have? What resources can help you achieve them? How often do you need to work out, how hard, and for how long?

Be sure to stay motivated and stay positive, set achievable goals, and remind yourself every day of why you do the things you do.

Good luck out there!