Take Advantage of Life's Fitness Opportunities

I live in a part of the country where winter is, well winter. We get cold, wind and snow. Sometimes not very much at a time, or all winter. But sometimes we get a lot and it's all winter. This would be one of those winters.

I have gone to my gym a couple times in some pretty lousy weather and to my complete lack of surprise I will be one of 2 or 3 people there. Now I understand that I take fitness and muscle building to a level few do so I am not being critical of people for staying home when it's not "easy" to get to the gym. No I have something else in mind to be critical of.

When I get back home after a workout my driveway needs plowing. I live in your everyday "cookie cutter" style neighborhood. It's a subdivision that has been built in the last 25 years, so we have standard 2 car width driveways and no sidewalks. Some of my neighbors are in to fitness, at least enough that when the weather allows, they walk, ride bikes, play tennis and some even have gym memberships. So what do you think I find when I get home?

All my neighbors cleaning off their driveways with their little snow blowers. Now I have a snow blower too. Mine hangs on the wall and you better believe when we get a 12" snow fall I got that baby out there blowing my snow. But 2, 3, 4 inches? Come on. Shovel. GET A WORKOUT!!!

Do you know how many calories you can burn shoveling snow? I don't either, but I'm sure it's a heckofa lot more than padding along behind a Toro. This is the type of thing that when you are fit and into a healthy lifestyle, you almost look forward to. It's a chance, in everyday life to show what your made of, without looking like that's what you are trying to do. Why people have to always seek the easiest way to do everything is why the average person in the gym looks and stays AVERAGE and why the people that never set foot in one look and feel the way they do.

Take the opportunities that life presents to help yourself be healthy. Shovel instead of snow blowing, rake leaves instead of blowing them, use an ax instead of a chain saw, take the stairs instead of the escalator and God help you if you are one of the people who drives around or waits for 15 minutes looking for a close parking spot and I am with you. You will experience first hand how fit my right hook is.