2. Fitness

I hope ya'll are having a great weekend, and enjoying a relaxing Sunday evening....aaaahhhhhh :)

The second component to a balanced life is physical activity. Physical activity does not mean you have to be an athlete, run a marathon, or do any kind of organized activity. What is important is that your body is in motion for 30-45 minutes 5 days a week. The reason physical activity is so crucial is that it keeps us healthy both physically and mentally. Our heart wants and needs to be challenged, it wants to pump blood through our bodies. Our lungs want to expand and contract and feed our bodies and cells with fresh oxygen. Exercise will not only increase your life span and prevent dieases, it will improve your quality of life. I think that it is the quality of life that we desire the most! Should you still be able to bend down and tie your shoes at 60? YES YES YES! Should you be able to walk up a flight of stairs at any age and not be winded? YES YES YES! About 2/3 of the American population is overweight or obese. Let's think about that for a moment. Think about three of your friends....Ok got it. Brea, Amber and Amy. If we are going by this statistics 2 of them are overweight. Which means they are unhealthy and at a great risk of having the number one killer of women- Heart Disease. That means that 2 of these beautiful wonderful friends of yours could die of one of many preventable diseases because 30-45 min of activity were too much to fit into their busy schedule. I wonder if during that busy schedule they watched tv or surfed facebook? I know I certainly don't want to see any of my beloved friends or family members in an unhealthy situation.Let's think of it this way, unfortunately there are many awful diseases we can't prevent because they are in our DNA, but if there are some that we can why would we not do our best to irradicate them?!

The point is physical activity is non-negotiable. Our bodies are meant to move and to do great things. We are born to our body, it is the one and only we have, we must treat it right!

Not only will excercise help ward off disease, but it is essential to a healthy well-oiled mind. If you poll 10 avid exercises I gaurantee that 10 out of 10 say, 'it's my stress relief.' 'My sanity.' 'I feel off if I go too long without it.' I have been physically active since I asked my father to teach me to dribble a basketball between my legs and behind my back at age 6, and if I go longer than 2 days without a sweat session I am NOT the best I can be. I may be cranky and easy to agitate, feel uncomfortable in my skin, or feel stress and anxiety. All of these feelings can be prevented due to the endorphins and quality time we get with ourself when we exercise.

I encourage anyone reading to make fitness a part and a priority in your life. Many of those that don't already incorporate exercise are living their life not knowing how good it can be. Someone who is not exercising and is hauling around extra weight on their body doesn't know that daily activities can be easy and how much of a better mother, father, friend, wife or husband they can be when there body is treated with love and respect.

What is better than a sweat session??? Give up?

A sweat session with a buddy! Exercise is fun when you have someone to meet you at the gym, trail, or exercise class. Not only that, but it holds you accountable if you know someone is waiting for you. I met Amy for a bootcamp in the park yesterday morning, and the other Amy for a run and swim today....(It is triathlon season)....And not only did we all feel great after moving our bodies, but we had a chance to catch up, motivate eachother, and laugh. The first F we discussed was friends and the second F we mentioned is fitness, so put it together and what do you get??? Friends for a healthy life time.

Tomorrow is Monday....Commit to at least 5 sessions of 30+ minutes of body time this week! You deserve it :)