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FIT FAMILIES

Physical Fitness just how physical is it?

KATE NEELEY

FITNESS GOALS. You’ve made the resolutions, maybe you’ve signed up for classes, bought a treadmill, or pushed yourself to get out for a run, but have you been successful in your fitness pursuit? What defines ‘success’ when it comes to fitness anyway? Is it when you have that toned, chiseled body? Is it when you finally finish the marathon in first place? Perhaps underneath it all, true fitness success isn’t those things at all. Just like your favorite Grinch, who took a deeper look at Christmas, a few local fitness experts share a deeper look at FITNESS; read on and you might discover contributing writer that “maybe [fitness] ... perhaps ... is a little bit more.”

“Fitness is a practice, not a box to check,” Clint Nardoni, fitness trainer at Malouf, who helps people with their fitness goals daily and has gained a lot of wisdom in his experience in the

field, said. Understanding what fitness actually means can help you take a closer look at the ‘why’ behind your own fitness goals. “Fitness is the ability of an individual to participate in both life-sustaining and life-fulfilling activities at whatever level they choose,” Clint said. In other words, when you’re fit, you’re able to live the life you want to live — for as long as you live.

An avid runner, past Utah State University (USU) cross country and track athlete Vanessa Gledhill is now a busy mother of three and piano teacher, and she still runs often. And … guess what … it’s because she LOVES to run! What? But why? Is it because she misses the rush of the steeplechase?

The short answer? “No.” Although Vanessa will testify the competition helped her grow as

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it pushed her out of her comfort zone during her years on the USU team, her running didn’t come to an end at graduation, and after that, as she puts it, “I was happy to be able to run just for the sheer joy of it.”

She’s been spotted out for a run in a blizzard before and will run, rain or shine, several times a week, and this has been going on for upwards of 20 years. She attests that she does it because it makes her happy. Sustained fitness habits like this are nothing to sneeze at, but it’s clear that this hasn’t come out of sheer grit or determination, or even the desire to get fit.

It seems a little counterintuitive, right? The actual physical fitness is the bonus for doing something you honestly enjoy.

Take Mandy McCullough for instance. A certified fitness instructor at Soul Fitness Studio in Providence, she says that going to work is fun for her. She teaches group fitness classes like the popular choreographed dance High Fitness, PiYo, and Les Mills Body Pump.

For Mandy, what started as a happy habit of working out for feel-good vibes has now become a way to earn some income, enjoy friendships, and as a bonus, stay physically fit.

If it’s going to be sustainable over time, fitness needs to be something that you like to do. Whether it’s hiking, biking, swimming, or dancing, think about it: How does it make you feel while you’re doing it? Like Mandy said, “If you do it to lose weight, that’s a really slow reward.” To be real, you will likely burn out if you don’t enjoy it.

You decide what fitness means to you. Your quality of life can be heavily influenced by your fitness, but it might be difficult to stay motivated if your fitness goals don’t line up with your values.

Do you love to get up in the mountains and ski with your kids? Do you like to go out for a walk because nature boosts your mood? What about dancing in the kitchen?

Clint dropped a truth bomb about fitness goals that only goes skin deep when he said, “You fail when you pursue a goal which lacks meaning and value.” If you’re only doing something you hate to get some great abs, you’re probably going to get tired of it long before your six pack pops up.

If your goal is to get fit, it might be a good idea to look a little deeper. What can you picture yourself still loving for years to come?

For some fun fitness classes to try, you can find Mandy on Instagram @move.it.mandy.

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