Beat the Heat at the Bix

6 Reasons to Get Active

Jul 1st, 2010 | By admin | Category: Active Lifestyles in the QC | Edit

by Chad Passman, Ironman Triathlete and Personal Trainer

Who wants to be active?

Chad Passman, Ironman and Personal Trainer

And better yet, why would we want to? Why do some slave away at the gym or run a never-ending number of miles every week?

Over the last decade or so I have had the opportunity to work with, train, and engage hundreds of people from the ages of twelve to ninety-five from very diverse backgrounds. In having conversations with these folks I have come to see a very definitive set of underlying motivators for being active.

This month I am summing up what I call the “underlying motivations for being active.” Why do I need to be active?

Here is what drives us all!

1. Live your life.

• Play catch with your son
• Shop with your daughter
• Buy groceries without a ride on the motorized cart
• Look reasonably healthy

None of us think that the ideal way to live is to be blob permanently affixed to the couch. What most of us would consider an ideal quality of life requires reasonable fitness.

Treadmills and fitness DVDs sell because we want to look and feel like the people in the commercials. They are successfully active and they looking good doing it. They don’t necessarily need the treadmill or the DVD. They already make activity a daily requirement and they get it done each and every day. There is no secret piece of equipment and no secret diet pill. We all know the answer: work hard at it.

2. Live long and prosper.

• If we increase our activity we will
• not be sick as often,
• have a lower risk of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and
• we will have a better quality of life.

We all have heard health insurance deductibles and premiums are going up. We can reduce unnecessary medical expenses with something as simple as walking around the block every day after work. It’s time to take charge of your health!

3. Healthy people are happy people.
Ask someone who has worked out consistently for more than six months. She will tell you that she:

• is generally more positive,
• has more energy, and
• has more satisfaction from life.

Or you could just ask me: I often send my wife out for a run when she is “overly” cranky. Usually works like a charm!

4. Groan with gratitude.
When I was in the Army, we would be out in the backwoods of southern Louisiana during the summer for two, three, and four weeks at a time. This was a no-tent, no-bed, no-shower, and LOTS of hiking-with-a-rucksack-through-the-scorching-hot-and-humid-bayous type of adventure.

Civilians can share the ecstasy of a real shower, cold air conditioning or a warm radiator by working out in real weather conditions. Folks who don’t work up a sweat can’t know how great ice cold water can be!

5. Eat to stay active; stay active to eat.
There is a new diet that is labeled “the one” each week that promises amazing results and you-know-who from Hollywood uses it to get ready for the next movie.

Truth is, I know the secret and so do you. Whatever we eat is part of our diet. So here comes the secret: You can eat anything you want; cake, pizza, ice cream — whatever.

You just cannot consume them every day and in large quantities. Eat less, make healthier food choices ~90% of the time, and increase your activity so you burn off more of what you eat.

Basic fact is; whatever you weight, you watched each ounce go into your own mouth.

Diets are out! Sensible food portioning is in!

6. Fitting in with the Fun Crowd
Running is fun. It’s fun with friends, alone, in the rain, snow, sun or twilight.

Cycling is fun. It’s more fun with the wind than against it, but it’s fun in almost any direction.

Swimming is fun. Open water, lap pool – it doesn’t matter. Goggle up and get wet.

Whatever your activity is — martial arts, rowing, rock climbing, weight lifting, dancing, gymnastics — it’s fun for you and the people you meet doing it. Learn from them, share what you know, and keep smiling all the way to the finish line.

Our world makes it too easy for us to stay on the couch. How can we take the harder road, rather than the path of least resistance? Next time, we’ll talk about how to overcome the temptations that stand between you and more activity.

Chad’s Video Report:

Read Chad’s other blog posts about living the active life:

• Want to know what motivates people to stay active?  Check out Chad’s top six reasons that motivate all of us (VIDEO included). (June 30, 2010)
• Chad answers some questions about his experience from the MVHNews staff.  (May 21, 2010)
• Chad wraps up his first week of biking to work with a handy review of what he learned and how much money he saved (VIDEO INCLUDED).  (May 21, 2010)
• Chad faced rain and lousy weather on his third day of riding his bike to work (VIDEO included). (May 20, 2010)
• Chad hit a headwind on Day 2 of his Biking to Work experiment, but he’s none the worse for wear.  Read about it and watch the video.  (May 20, 2010)
• Read about Chad’s first day of biking to work. (May 19, 2010)
• Chad helps us celebrate QC in Motion Week and passes along his tips for biking to work (VIDEO included). (May 17, 2010)
• Meet Chad Passman, MVHN Online’s fitness blogger who writes about Living an Active Lifestyle.

Chad Passman, 28, is a Quad City ultra runner and Ironman triathlete. He has spent years personal training Quad Citians of all ages, shapes, and backgrounds. His personal mission is to inspire those around him to make their life goals a reality through a positive outlook and unwavering commitment.