Who are we exercising for?

Hi all!! I'm going a little philosophical this week,(pausing for the groan, cmon Brian stop babbling and lets lift something!!). I get it really I do. Every time we work out its for the goal to make our lives better in many ways. Our motives are varied, fro some its losing weight, improving at an athletic activity, to make ourselves irisistable at the beach etc. You can easily get the idea that this is a self serving act in every way no?

And we are in a image conscious world arent we? We are assaulted in the media by men with abs of steel and biceps that could crush tanks and women who are so thin a strong breeze would blow them out the window.  But as a society we are getting bigger. Super sized bigger. With extra fries.... So where is the explanation? Our celebrities, athletes, heck even our comic book characters that people adore and emulate are all "in shape" but the vast majority are .....expanding.

Can we as a people, all the fitness professionals, athletes, regular Joes and Josephines collectively change this? Can health and excellence be as infectious as apathy, obesity, and disease. Because that is where we are leaning.  Its worse out there now than ever before, which is ridiculous because of the advances in medicine and the availability of every method of improving oneself. Apathy and ignorance, seeking the easy way out with the quick fix has made the health of us and society more fragile than ever.

K so thats the bad news. The good news? OF COURSE WE CAN FIX THIS. And we dont need anyone but ourselves. Of course an awesome trainer cant hurt(lol). It can be infectious. Imagine one person, part of a family or group deciding to change their life for the better. Maybe by losing weight by exercsing more, changing the way that they eat, or stopping smoking.  But they get there, and their loved ones notice. And they are curious. So maybe they work out together, or they start their own changes. They get active. Maybe even read a book. (I know, its a hope I have, deal with it). And their bodies and minds start getting better. And Descartes was wrong, a strong mind is nothing without the body feeding it. (find the book and tell me what you think, yep homework....)

And sure there will be peoplewho do nothing. Everyone wont buy into it until its way late, and thats sad. But its not a reason to get out there and try. And its tough as hell. Today I was sitting in a room full of EMS professionals. Folks whose careers are taking care of the sick and injured. And the tables were littered with soda cans, potato chips, and candy. and the biggest movement was outside for smoke breaks. It makes you scratch your head, but it also inspires me, cuz I know I could help.

So whats stopping you? Today, can you go for a walk, or a swim, lift a weight, or play catch with your kid? Can you skip the drive thru and make a salad instead? Because the secret is, if you can do it today, you can do it tomorrow. If you drop a pebble in a pond the pebble sinks in the spot but the ripples extend out as far as the pond goes. Get out and be effective!!