Unlock Freedom: Benefits of Fitness for Living Your Best Life!

Rarely are the mental benefits of fitness discussed with the enthusiasm one boasts about the physical superiority they have gained by losing 10 kilos or gaining 3 inches on their biceps. This unfortunate consequence of being taught by society is that only measurable or aesthetic change matters.

I went on my honeymoon to Italy and Switzerland in August and we had one big suitcase that weighed upwards of 25 kilos, 2 backpacks, the burden of being from a country whose currency was not favorable to a European holiday, and the hopes and dreams of a young couple in love. We walked A LOT on cobbled stone sidewalks in Italy, up and down stairs in train stations, and around colossal monuments. Not once did I think twice if I would be capable of doing it though(though my sore feet at the end of almost every day should have instilled some hesitation). Run to catch the train - no problem!, walk instead of a cab-even less of a problem, lug the oddly shaped suitcase up 2 flights of stairs and then into the luggage carrier of the train - SIGN ME UP! Frankly, I am not a wildly enthusiastic person. I don't have limitless energy to travel and do things nonstop. I am the kind of person who wants 8 hours of sleep, and good food and would stay home and watch a movie rather than go out any day. Some would say anyone while traveling does all this because vacations are not cheap. Be that as it may, I signed up for this. I could have planned a very do-nothing on the beach and have an afternoon romp session kinda vacation with my husband. I planned a trip like this only because I knew I could handle it.

I started working out in 2017 to lose the fat I had gained because of my sloth-like lifestyle and my PCOS. I noticed all the usual stuff. I lost weight, my clothes got loser, the number on the scale went down and my doctor was elated. I just kinda drifted off once I got there though. I enjoyed working out a lot so I'd keep doing things but never had a solid plan. The movement was enough to keep me healthy-ish. The lockdown then hit and I had to adapt to many restrictions. I continued to do random things but upped the intensity because it was the only thing that made me feel anything. It ensured I was exhausted enough to sleep or sore enough that my crippling loneliness didn't occupy my brain. Eventually, I got borderline addicted to working out. I set so many goals I had to work out twice a day. I wanted to do pull-ups, handstands, run a 5k, and learn to do a pistol squat. I, fortunately, realized my mistake once I mildly injured my right shoulder and could not train my pull-ups for 2 weeks. I got a little better with my workouts and started making a plan that worked for me. Lo and behold it did! I started to feel much better while working out. I didn't feel like I was numbing myself. I took some therapy to help and fortunately, restrictions were easing up and my life was improving. Something I noticed much later was that I was able to live my life with relative ease during these last few years. I didn't get back pain like some of my peers from so much sitting. I was able to do chores fast and effectively whilst having energy for workouts. I noticed how when I was sore or stiff after an intense workout my body didn't feel right. I felt restricted and had to think so much about whether I was capable of doing the things I needed or wanted to. I felt the lack of freedom.

FREEDOM! This is what this article is all about. Being fit unlocks a world of opportunities for you. You don't need to analyze the probability of getting tasks done. The fitter you are, the more freedom you have. We admire people who can walk up a flight of stairs at 80 because they don't rely on anyone to create accommodations for them. We often feel pity for differently abled people for the same reason. We feel like their life is difficult because of all the effort they need to go through just to do daily tasks(while the difficulty is true there is no need for pity here at all). Use fitness as a tool to improve your physical capacity so you can live the life of your dreams. Work out so you can run throw your child in the air and hear their unfettered happiness. Use the gym to train for the life you want to live and you will struggle less to go there. Invest in your physical health so you can preserve your mental energy for matters that require more of it.

My point is - exercise so you can experience all the fun your heart desires, so you can no less and so you can trust your body to be there for you. Make fitness a part of your life so you can live the best version of it!