Are You Really Out Of Shape? Let’s Find Out

for-shape-crossfit-exercise-fitness

Are you worried that you aren’t in shape? Perhaps you are struggling with low levels of fitness and are concerned about how you look. It’s quite common for people who do not feel fit to have issues with low self-esteem and poor confidence. This is due to the concepts that society place on fitness, relating it to beauty. However, it’s important to realize that beauty and fitness are two completely different traits. You can be one without necessarily matching societies concept of the other. That’s why, before you worry about the way you look, you need to ask yourself a key question. Are you really physically unfit and do you need to worry about your health? Let’s explore this by looking at the signs that you do need to be worried about your weight and the factors that can trick you into believing that you are unhealthy.

Aesthetics And Perception

shape up

Pic Link

Height

There are various factors that can impact how you perceive yourself being in shape and whether you look ‘fat’ or unhealthy. For instance, height can play an issue here. If you are fairly small in stature, you will probably look significantly heavier compared to another individual who might be taller. The difference between someone who is 6ft and someone who is 5ft can be staggering even if they do weigh exactly the same.

BMI

That’s why, when you are deciding whether you are unfit or indeed unhealthy, you need to think about the BMI. You can find out more about your BMI here. This will provide you with clear information on whether you are underweight, overweight or roughly the recommended size. This is just a taster of the type of issues that physical differences can cause when you’re trying to determine whether you are a healthy weight or indeed level of fitness.

Body Build

Another problem can be your build. Some people do have broader builds and while this will no doubt be attractive on men, having a broad build as a woman can make you feel fat and unattractive. It can also make you constantly question whether your diet is an issue when really there is very little you are going to be able to change about your bone structure. Bodybuilding promotes keeping in shape.

Colon Cleanse

Of course, sometimes issues with your weight are actually beneath the surface. For instance, you might be overweight and yet it’s possible that some of that weight is caused by a colon that isn’t properly emptying. The colon is designed to remove and eliminate waste materials from the body that it doesn’t need. It should do this efficiently so that no waste is left inside the body. This doesn’t always happen and instead, it can mean that the weight remains. Exercise won’t help you remove these extra pounds. Instead, you need to think about completing a colon cleanse. This should help you see a noticeable change in your weight. You can find out about this here.

Water Retention

Alternatively, you could be retaining water. While you might feel fat, it’s possible that your body is actually simply bloated with high levels of water retention. There are various ways to reduce your levels of water retention including increasing your potassium intake. You can do this quite simply by eating more bananas but of course, there are various foods that include this substance.

Slim And Unfit

shape up 2

Pic Credit

Fast Metabolism

It’s true, you can be slim and still unfit. This is often due to a fast metabolism. It allows you to eat unhealthily while not putting on the pounds. It can provide you with the pleasant idea that you are healthy when in reality, your arteries have been filling with fat and they might even be contracting. It’s also possible that the diet you have is causing serious, potentially lasting consequences for your health and your body shape. You might not notice the physical changes caused by these unhealthy factors until much later on in your life. Ultimately, you can eat for years with unhealthy attitudes and then when you reach middle age suddenly put on a high level of unshiftable mass. You might even find the fat on your stomach is hard and as such will be difficult to lose even with high levels of exercise.

Energy Levels

People who are unfit and yet slim often have issues with levels of energy throughout the day as well. They will struggle to complete even typical day to day activities without taking breaks or feeling out of breath. Many will also experience high levels of fatigue at work or while completing sports.

Breathing Difficulties

Another sign that you are unfit and slim would be an issue with breathing. Do you constantly feel out of breath, even when walking up a flight of stairs? This is often the case if you smoke, but it can also be due to issues with the circulation system of your body. Some of the signs that there is trouble with your circulation system can be seen on medical news today. As such, if you are struggling with breathing issues it might be worth thinking about taking up yoga. Yoga is often a great way to improve physical performance and ensure that your breathing is regulated the right way.

How’s Your Stamina?

shape up 3 stamina

Pic Link

Physical Fitness and Strength

Regardless of your weight, another clear sign that you are unfit would be a problem with your stamina. You might remember the beep test from your school days. This was a way to track how long children could run for without stopping and whether they could reach a certain pace. Essentially, it was a practical test of health and fitness. While education systems are now moving away from this type of testing, if you struggle to run for even a mile, you might want to work on your stamina. You could take this to extreme levels by training for a marathon.

According to https://origympersonaltrainercourses.co.uk/blog/how-to-train-for-a-marathon this is all about drive and resilience but by completing the training necessary, you will see genuine improvements in your stamina and indeed levels of physical fitness. If you are looking to boost your levels of fitness, setting a practical goal such as this can be a great way to do it. It can provide the motivation you need to succeed.

Of course, you don’t need to be able to run a marathon to be physically fit. This would actually put you beyond the standard levels of fitness and endurance. You should however at least be able to take a jog around the park every now and then without feeling like your heart is about to burst out of your chest.

Aches And Pains

pains

Pic Source

Chronic Pain

Finally, another key sign that you might have a low level of physical fitness would be constantly feeling pain at points throughout your body. Chronic pain can have a range of different causes but an unhealthy lifestyle can certainly be a factor. It can mean that you are more likely to struggle with issues such as leg and back pain. You might think that working out is going to cause you more pain but research shows that certain exercise can actually benefit chronic pain sufferers. The workout can get your limbs and joints moving to the point where they no longer hurt you or at the very least, the pain is reduced.

Again, you don’t have to run miles or lift tonnes to see this type of change. A brief stroll each day should do the trick and provide seeable benefits to your health.

Generally speaking then, if you are not suffering from pain, your BMI is at the right level and your stamina isn’t exceptionally poor, you are probably in quite a good state of health. This will be true, no matter what you see when you look in the mirror and is a far better measure than comparing yourself to a model on TV or even the aesthetic of a celebrity working with a personal trainer to keep in shape.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.