Wellness Wednesday
At Querencia we aim to help you get in better shape and reach your fitness goals. But we want so much more than that for you… we want you to get fit and stay fit well into your later years of life.
When it comes to sustainable fitness, your mindset definitely matters. How you think about your body, self-care and exercise choices will determine the actions you take, and your commitment level.
Many people are stuck in old fitness habits that are body shape focused and need updating. Others have a myopic focus around short-term performance in one specific sport which can be short-sighted too. (Myopia is a condition in which visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye, resulting in defective vision of distant objects. ... Someone myopic might have trouble seeing things from a different perspective or considering the future consequences before acting.
Sustainable fitness is the key to independent living well into old age, as pain-free as possible. Just like an athlete has a goal of doing their best in their sport, for sustainable fitness, we should set goals with the ‘sport’ of healthy longevity in mind.
We all need to think of ourselves as ‘athletes’ and our ‘sport’ as arriving at the an age of 90 +, with the ability to move and care for ourselves similar to how we do at our age now. In other words, pain-free and perhaps independent living at 90 is the goal. So, to get there, choosing the mindset of sustainable fitness means you reverse-engineer that goal to the age you are now. Then create an evolving plan for how to reach it.
So when considering your fitness choices, think:
How is this serving me in the long-term?
Will this activity (or my approach to it) burn me out in five years?
How can I make my fitness choices more sustainable?
In order to help maintain musculoskeletal health, should I just save my favorite sport for one or two times a week, with purposeful cross-training and recovery in between?
Take a few minutes before a workout to remind yourself why you want to do it. Move away from the superficial and imagine the things you’d love to be able to do in your older years. Let this mindset motivate how you approach your self-care and athletic practices now.
The definition of sustainability is being able to continue or last for a long time. Making your fitness journey sustainable shouldn’t have to mean you deprive yourself of everything you’ve ever enjoyed in the past, but it should be something you can see yourself doing for the long haul.
The reality is that if you want to see some changes you’ve got to make some changes, even if you start small. With the right mindset and support along the way, you can make sure your healthy lifestyle is one of sustainable fitness, and you’ll have success in years to come. I hope you enjoyed this week’s article! We will see you next week!
Namaste!
Amber Green
Owner/Founder
Querencia
Works Cited
Healthy Aging Through Sustainable Fitness: A 4 Pronged Approach. https://www.tuneupfitness.com/blog/healthy-aging-sustainable-fitness/
Sustainable Fitness: 4 Keys to Long-Term Success. https://laurieyogi.com/sustainable-fitness/