When you stop and reflect on hearing the recent news of Katie Holmes having participated in and run the New York marathon in five and a half hours, you cannot but be enthused. But wait a bit, surely there is more behind the scenes than you can fathom.
I mean how is it possible for the wife of Tom Cruise the superstar Hollywood actor to perform such a feat? You think that she did it stat without any preparation beforehand? Definitely, nobody can perform such a feat without being in shape for it and that surely takes time, training, mental strength, practice, and more significantly a high level of fitness.
And that brings me to a totally related aspect. Maintaining fitness today has as much to do with mental strength, discipline, and consistency as it has to with regular exercise, good health, and diet. But seen in depth and at a level that transcends even all these aspects is the fact of using moderation in everything that you do.
Consider now the recent news of Lance Armstrong coming out of retirement and planning to again participate in the multi-stage Tour de France cycle race. He has been in retirement for three years at least and the practical person that he is, Lance is simply not jumping into the fray without adequate preparation. For that he is using a cycle race in Australia before he even attempts the French tour. Even in the race in Australia he has not tried to win by putting in his utmost effort.
So, you see these two examples have brought out moderation as an effective way of reaching your goal whatever that might be. And that is very much applicable to and consistent with your fitness goals.
What happens is that people usually try their utmost right in their initial effort at fitness. That is a strategy that is bound to backfire. The reason for this is that the human body needs time to adapt and its structure is such that it can adapt only gradually. So, instead of a bout of strenuous exercise, you would do well to first assess the condition of your body and your age. Therefore, you need to adopt moderation as the cornerstone in your endeavor to reach fitness and maintain it.
And one thing more. This moderation is not to be followed only in regard to exercise. It is also to be rigorously followed in the matter of your diet, your behavior, and your daily routine, inclusive of the period of sleep. And once you get the hang of it, your body will itself signal to you whether what you are doing is in moderation or not.
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