By Ann Asbell | Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:00 am
How do I stay fit? The answer is simple, but before I give the answer I want to comment on the question.
What is "fit?" It is such a broad term with a wide range of acceptable answers. Does it mean fit to run a marathon? Fit to play in a summer softball game? Fit to walk 18 holes of golf? Fit to mow my lawn, plant my flowers, and do my housework? Fit to care for myself?
I will choose to answer the question with "fit" being defined as my body being prepared to provide me with a quality of life, able to do the things that I enjoy.
How do I stay fit? The simple answer lies within my motto: Exercise is a way of life, not an event. Each day exercise or activity, as I prefer to say, is part of my life. I find enjoyment in moving; my body does not like being still for long periods of time.
This way of life has been with me for as long as I can remember, just as eating, sleeping, and brushing my teeth have been a part of my life since birth.
On most days I ride a bike or walk for transportation, and I stretch each day, often several times a day. At least once a week I do some resistance training. I choose stairs instead of escalators or elevators when possible. I enjoy a wide variety of activity interests, but often these activities provide my social life as much as my activity life.
I also enjoy meeting challenges such as going on bicycle tours or running a race, but these events are not the foundation of my fitness. It is the daily activity and the attitude that moving the body is a good thing that provides the foundation for my fitness.
Activity is available in a wide variety of intensities. Much of my activity is moderate in intensity, and it may not be for more than 10 minutes, but the surgeon general's recommendation for health is for 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. The 30 minutes can be broken into smaller segments, and the health benefit is still met. When I am preparing for a more vigorous goal, such as going on a bicycle tour, I step up my intensity and duration to prepare my body, but most of the time my activity is moderate.
I am the director of the Physical Activity Course Program at Oregon State University. This is the academic credit program that provides students with opportunities to learn and participate in a very wide variety of physical activities. I teach several different activity classes.
People assume that I am fit because of my job. In actuality, I usually do not participate in games with my students. My job may make it easier for me to find ways to participate in activities, but it is my motto that allows me to be fit. My career is devoted to helping people find ways to include activity as a part of their lives. It is important to me to provide a positive role model for people of all ages, but the main reason that I am fit is because being active is a way of life for me.
Ann Asbell, a Corvallis resident, is an instructor at the Oregon State University department of nutrition and exercise sciences.