Hit & Run - by Molly Nechvatal

Most of the time, when we think about fitness or working out, we are focusing on looking good -- a flatter tummy, smaller saddle bags, tighter muscles. All of this can make us feel more confident and give us more energy, which is a fantastic day-to-day pay off. Every morning when we get up we can look in the mirror and see how our commitment to a healthy lifestyle is paying off. But how often do we think about the invisible results? Do we forget about (or even realize) what is happening under the skin -- in our blood, our digestive system, our lungs, our brains, our cellular structure.

I recently had TWO experiences that reminded me of those results, which I admittedly don't place as a priority that often.

FIRST of all, just the other week i was finishing up a 10 mile run on a beautiful warm rainy morning. I felt good, but was anxious to get home. Only 1/4 mile from my home I crossed the street, and a taxi came driving quickly up to the stop sign, but blew right through it. I had begun to swerve a little, thinking he was just stopping too far out, but when the car was at my legs I instinctively placed one hand on the hood and jumped up onto the hood of the car. As the driver finally slammed to a stop I did fly off the car and onto the ground, butt first. I was very scared, my butt cheek burned, but all in all, I had escaped impact with the vehicle itself. Why? Because I jumped -- fast and high! Why? Because I had been practicing that over and over with Shaun T.'s INSANITY workouts, 3 months of high knees, power jumps, burpees, and pylometrics. I did those workouts to look good and run fast. But what they really did, was save my life. Heck, I even ran home afterwards (albeit in a bit of shock).

I am in my 40's -- an age when I notice many people start giving in to age, gravity, lethargy, hormones, sentimentality. We begin to talk about cholesterol tests, high blood pressure, diabetes, medications, and treatments, as if they are just part of "growing up". Some of us start to fight back, which gives us a whole new outlook on life. Some don't. I have frequently replayed that experience in my head, the car, going 30 mph, at my knees, and have seen myself as an inactive person, bracing myself against the impact of the car as it smashes against my legs, drags me to the ground, and rolls across me. It was the choice to LIVE an active life for many years prior to this that I think helped me to avoid an otherwise horrific end.

SECOND experience. My 85 year old mother just had hip replacement surgery. She was repeatedly asked for her medical history, and time after time, people were amazed that she was typically only on 1 medication (thyroid). She has no history of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma, or dementia. She is recovering very well from surgery ("like a 65 yr old" her doctor told her!) I am so happy for her to regain her active lifestyle that she has been missing these last few years. But I also saw many other patients, some much younger, who were obese, feeble, and ill, who were confined by tubes in their throats and in their colons, and who had a multitude of medications to ease symptoms, counteract side-effects, lessen pain, and lower all sorts of unhealthy numbers in their charts. I feel bad for them. I also feel bad that that scares me. I know that disease is fickle and that treatments vary in effectiveness from person to person. But I also believe that what we CAN control should not be disregarded. The positive effects of a healthy life in our youth, contribute to a much greater likelihood of a healthy life as we age. We are not DESTINED to grow weak and diseased and medicated and incapacitated as we age. We can CHOOSE how much control we decide to give up. I choose to control as much as I can for as long as I can. I lose more than a flat tummy when I stop exercising, when I eat more processed foods, when I pay less attention to emotional stress. I lose one of the most powerful influences I have over my future -- my HEALTH. - Molly Nechvatal

If you would like to try the INSANITY Program that Molly uses to train with that literally saved her life in more ways than one you can preview it and order it here: http://passionforfitness.info/web/insane

If you would like to try Shakeology you can get more information on it and order it here: http://HeavenInAGlass.info 

Tom
Passion For Fitness