Posts-I've-stolen-from-other-people

I'm figuring out different strength training routines and writing up stuff on different strength training moves (yes, I'm actually working on it - I finished a post yesterday, and considering how long my missives tend to be, that made me happy) complete with photo examples. In the interim, my goal of regular posting remains and so I figured that I'd pop up a post from a SparkPeople blog that resonates nicely with a fitness & self-image goals that I need to keep reminding myself about: being fit and healthy doesn't mean having a perfectly toned, cut, and lithe body like the girls in the fitness magazines.

Confession: I May Not be Perfect, but I'm Still Fit & Healthy

Nicole is fit and healthy. She has a lovely, strong and feminine body. Her physical capabilities more than prove she is a physically fit person. There is nothing revolutionary in her blog entry, yet most of us need reminding that fit does not equal perfect. I am quite lithe, yet I long for the sort of intense, glistening muscle definition that you see in the women's fitness magazines. This is despite having pretty darn defined muscles to begin with. Focussing on health is a much better goal, but it is hard to remember that we are looking to achieve what is healthy for our own bodies when leafing through publications that advocate a diet of processed protein shakes and absurd amounts of exercise every day.

Exercise is a joy, if not before or during, than after. Obsessing for perfection strips that joy away from it. Worrying about that stubborn little rope of genetically pre-destined fat immediately under my navel can strip the joy right out of a good dance session. Nicole admitted to being obsessed about perfection for a while, and she prefers her current outlook. And so do I.