What Being Fit Means to Me Now. And How That's Changed.

3 minutes ago

4 min read

The answer looks different at 48 than it did at 28.

When I was younger, being fit meant something quite different to me.

It was about how fast I could run, how hard I could train, how much I could push. There was a version of me that measured a good workout by how exhausted I was at the end of it. More was better. Harder was better. Doing less felt like falling behind.

At 48, I still like feeling strong. I still enjoy a good session. And yes, there's still a competitive part of me that occasionally thinks I should be able to do exactly what I did twenty years ago. 😂

But what fitness means to me has changed. A lot.

And when I look back over 26 years of working in this industry, fitness itself has changed a lot too.

We've Certainly Tried a Few Things

If you've been around fitness for a while, you'll remember some of these.

Aerobics. Hi-Lo. Step. Leotards. Leg warmers. Headbands. And of course, Aerobics Oz Style on television, which began in 1982 and became part of Australian fitness culture for more than two decades.

Then came the Step class era of the 90s, followed by choreographed programmes like Body Pump and Spin, boxing style workouts and a whole new generation of group fitness. Personal training exploded. Outdoor boot camps arrived. Then Zumba, CrossFit, functional training and HIIT promised to be the answer.

Eventually our watches started telling us how many steps we'd taken, how many calories we'd burned, how well we'd slept and occasionally making us feel guilty for sitting down too long. 😂

Then COVID changed everything again and suddenly workouts were happening in lounge rooms, garages and on Zoom.

I've watched fitness reinvent itself over and over again. Some trends lasted. Some disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived. But underneath all of it something has stayed the same.

Our bodies need to move. That part was never going to change.

What Has Changed for Me

There was a time when doing more felt like the answer.

Train harder. Run further. Push yourself. And for a while that approach served me well. But somewhere in the years of teaching, observing and living in a body that's moving through time, my question changed.

I stopped asking what my body could do in a workout and started asking what my fitness was actually helping me do outside of one.

At 48 that question matters a lot more than it used to.

I want to walk for hours when I'm travelling. Carry my own bags. Get up and down from the floor easily. Climb stairs, spend a full day outdoors and say yes to an adventure without wondering whether my body will cope.

I want strong muscles and strong bones. Balance, mobility and energy. And I want to keep as much independence as possible as I get older.

That's a completely different set of goals to the ones I started with. And honestly, they feel more meaningful.

Training for a Different Reason

At 28 I wasn't thinking about what my body would be capable of at 60, 70 or 80.

At 48 I definitely am.

Not because I'm frightened of getting older. Quite the opposite. There are too many things I still want to do. Places I want to see. Trips I want to take. People I want to spend time with. Experiences I don't want to have to sit out because my body couldn't keep up.

So, these days I'm not exercising to stop myself from getting older. I'm exercising because I want to keep participating in my life as I get older.

That's a very different motivation. And it makes showing up a lot easier.

Maybe We've Come Full Circle

After all the trends I've watched come and go over 26 years, I sometimes think we've made exercise far more complicated than it needs to be.

There will always be another workout, gadget, programme or fitness trend promising to be the next big thing. Some will be great. Some will disappear. And I'm sure there will be plenty more before I'm finished teaching.

But at this stage of my life, I'm far less interested in what's trendy.

I want to be strong. I want my heart and lungs to be healthy. I want to move well, maintain my balance and actually enjoy what I'm doing. And I want to be able to keep doing it.

At 48 that's what being fit means to me. Less about proving what my body can do today and more about giving it the best chance of still doing the things I love for many years to come.

Although if leg warmers make a comeback I can't promise I won't be tempted. 😂

What did fitness look like for you when you first started? And has your idea of being fit changed over the years? I'd love to hear. 👇