“I need to get fit” That’s a statement I often hear when a new client appears in my studio, especially at this time of year, but what exactly does it mean?

One thing is for sure: our human body is built for movement. We were never designed to sit still for long hours at a desk, or spend hours staring at a screen, or drive long distances hunched in the same position, or perform the same repetitive actions over a continuous period.

For our body to function well, and for us to feel a sense of wellbeing, our whole system needs to work at its optimum level. Normal human activity doesn’t require us to be able to run marathons, push a car up a hill single-handedly or be an Olympic gymnast, although if that is what you want to do, then go for it!

For most of us, we want to be able to go for a brisk walk without getting puffed out, maybe break into a trot without taking the rest of the day to recover, be able to carry our shopping bags, spend the day gardening or keep up with the kids.

In order for us do these things without collapsing in a heap we have to exercise (or train) our bodily systems to work a bit harder than that, so that normal feels easy.

People have lots of different ideas about what it means to be fit, so let’s have a look at what some of the components of fitness actually are.

The cardio vascular (or CV) system is the workings of our heart and lungs. The lungs deliver oxygen to the heart which pumps it around the body to our muscles and organs. To make it stronger we need to spend some time getting puffed out.

Our muscular system needs to be strong enough to move and support us and have enough endurance to keep on going. Think of repeatedly picking up a heavy box – that’s strength.

Hold that box up for a few minutes – that’s endurance. To improve muscle strength and endurance we have to get our muscles doing a bit more than they are used to.

What about flexibility too? If we can’t bend over to pick stuff up without hurting our backs then life is difficult. Flexibility can’t be forced, but it can be improved, given time.

Our muscles also help our circulatory system by moving fluids such as blood and lymph through the body.

The skeleton forms the framework for our muscles and using your muscles helps to strengthen our bones.

None of this would happen without our nervous system, of course. Some of our muscles run on automatic – you don’t need to think about keeping your heart beating or your digestive tract functioning for example, but when it comes to movement, balance, coordination, agility, these are all things we can train and improve.

Our nervous system is strengthened by exercise and movement.

If you’ve been keeping up, you will have already worked out that your workout needs to include all of these aspects.

You wont be able to run or briskly walk if your muscles aren’t strong enough to do it. You wont be able to do a few push ups if you get out of breath too easily, and without balance and agilty, it just ain’t gonna happen.

In my 25 years of being in the fitness industry, I’ve seen lots of successes and quite a few failures when it comes to getting fit.

This column will look at how you can improve your fitness and wellbeing, building activity into your everyday life no matter what your age or ability.

I believe: if you love it, you’ll do it.
 

Patricia Issitt is a movement therapist and Pilates Instructor and has worked in fitness and wellbeing since 1990, first as an exercise instructor; then as an instructor trainer. In 2000, Patricia began studying Pilates, opening York Pilates Space, a fully equipped Pilates studio in the city centre 2004. Patricia now works closely with physiotherapists and osteopaths helping her clients to achieve their fitness goals.