Fitness Goals

Find a reason to get in shape

Women decide to become involved in fitness for a number of reasons. Some want to reach short term goals related to their appearance, others are urged into it by their doctors. Regardless of your reasons for becoming active, you’ll benefit in countless ways.

You might be looking to strengthen your bones and avoid osteoporosis in the future. By strength training you’ll reach you goal and build muscle in the process. Not only will the muscle make you stronger and better able to carry out daily tasks, but it will boost your metabolism, helping you lose excess fat at the same time.

The usual fitness goals

• Lose weight/fat - This is a big goal for many women who take up exercise. Whether they want to lose those few extra pounds that have crept up over the Holliday season or are committed to tackling obesity, it’s important to know that exercise and not starvation is the right way to do it.
• Get healthy - Regular physical activity can help ward off everything from diabetes and heart disease to depression and job-related stress. It enhances emotional wellbeing and physical health. There’s not a drug on the market that can do all that at the same time.
• Build muscle - Most women won’t say a desire for more muscle is the reason they’re working out. The exception to the rule is women who know that building muscle is the key to a higher metabolism and a strong, healthy body. They ignore those female muscle myths telling them they’ll look like a bodybuilder because they know strong women are anything but bulky.
• Increase flexibility - This goal is also heard less often than weight loss and better health. It tends to be more of a secondary goal. Once a woman has experienced the benefits of exercise for losing and maintaining weight, or has witnessed how it can positively affect overall health, she’ll come to learn that flexibility is necessary for keeping joints healthy, strong and able to do the work required of them. The sooner flexibility is recognized as an important part of fitness, the better.