Looking good, feeling great!

I'm now enjoying life, better than before because of my improved fitness.

Imagine playing any sport or hobby without having to stop after 5 or 10 minutes? Imagine having to enjoy what you do - endurance sports like martial arts, grappling, boxing, rock climbing, adventure racing, triathlons and stamina sports like marathons, half marathons without gassing out and being able to complete it? The satisfaction and sense of achievement when you cross that finish line is beyond words - for those of you who have completed such events, you'd know what I mean. Imagine your enlarged and new circle of friends and interesting people you'd meet when you indulge in such new activities?

Okay, okay, you may say - I don't like any of these types of sports or activities. Fair enough. Even if you are a week-end warrior or ordinary joe, the benefits of having great fitness are manifold. You will never tire easily from physical exertion, and even if you do, you'd recover quickly and easily. You could play with your chidlren and keep up with them. You could go scuba-diving with friends, cycling, running, play racket games, dance, the possibilities are endless. Your heart will be strong and healthier - and you will avoid all those lifestyle diseases so prevalent in today's society. The statistics are frightening. Just look at the papers today and you'll know how obese the population is fast becoming. As these lifestyle diseases increase, so does the life of the individual beset with these diseases decrease significantly. Personally, I know of 2 close friends who died from their first and only heart attack at ages 34 and 36 respectively. Shocking? Yes.

Your body was not made to be sedentary. As we increasingly grow older, our muscles athropy or waste away when it is not used. We lose muscle fibres, strength, flexibility and range of motion. You may think, this is not important but it is. I've seen individuals who cannot move themselves far, ie walk or are bedridden because their muscles fail them. Is this the quality of life I wanted? Certainly not.

And thus, continues my quest for fitness not only for myself, but to share it with as many loved ones and friends as well.

I'm now enjoying my fitness, having the strength and fitness to do almost any sport I'd like, like boxing and adventure racing. At the beginning, I could even hold up my hands with a 10 ozs. glove for more than 1 minute while boxing because my arms and sholders burned from the lactic acid build up. Boxing is an intense anaerobic activity and is very demanding but I love it! Another thing I'd like to continue is my adventure racing which I tried last year and also enjoy a great deal!

Could I do all this before being whipped into shape by Vince and being conditioned? No way but now I can. And so can you!

There are many ways to being fit and strong. What's yours? Mine's Core Strength Conditioning at KDT Academy.

Next: What is Core Strength and why Core Strength?