There are many factors which come in to play in a lifetime of fitness. Just to start, recovering from common injuries, training smart, hydration, proper nutrition, knowing how to use safe training techniques, and of course motivation and discipline, are all essential. There are many other important things to consider. Fitness is simple in some ways, and complex in others. 1000s of books have been written on the subject.
There are some fitness factors that many of us never think about, but which can go a long way towards staying “in the game” for a long time. Three of these are camaraderie, fun, and celebration. When I think of the 2019 Spartan Ultra World Championship, which I did with my client and friend Robert Bradshaw, that’s what comes to mind- camaraderie, fun, and most importantly celebration, of life and of fitness. It may not always be easy, but life is a gift. It’s pretty simple, we’re lucky to have these bodies, this moment, and this ability to move and to be fit, and that simple fact is worth a yearly celebration.
I met Robert through the fitness center I train most of my clients at about 6 years ago, and we immediately got to work achieving his goals. Even though this club has all sorts of advanced equipment, this was a partnership immediately based on bigger ideas and bigger goals. When Robert asked me during one of our sessions to do this Spartan race, which I’d never done, I hesitated at first. “It’s in northern Sweden, in arctic weather in November, 8 miles up a 5000 ft. mountain with 25 obstacles?” “Hmmm…ok, sure why not.” To be fair, I may have inspired him in writing about fitness and its powerful effect on you inside and out, but he also inspired me with his positive attitude and his idea of a yearly celebration like this. That’s what good teams do, they learn from each other, inspire each other, and do hard work together. Iron sharpens iron.
So we went to Sweden and did the race and completed it. Yes, it was cold, 7 degrees at race time and snow was piled up in places knee deep, but we both finished and had a blast. No records were set, but many laughs were had and many obstacles were overcome. If you’ve never done a Spartan race, I recommend trying one. Exercise and fitness are not the point of life but they can be a symbol for something bigger, a celebration of the ultimate things.
There’s a large community of fellow fitness-lovers interested in setting new fitness goals and achieving great things. Many lifelong friendships and memories have been made in the “fitness game”. Come join in the fun. Let’s make 2020 a year to celebrate.
