Real Holistic Fitness
Real holistic fitness comes from training and life-style practices that actually help to enhance different aspects of our physical fitness while improving valued qualities of our mind and spirit (e.g. calmness, determination, focus, positive orientation). In addition to good nutrition, it requires attention to heart-lungs health (e.g. aerobic and anaerobic fitness), strength (including stability and endurance), flexibility and coordination.

Functional fitness
Effective holistic fitness training develops good functional fitness. This is fitness that is well matched to the physical demands of everyday active lives (e.g. lifting or moving things, playing with children, participating in sports). For many of us, our exercise habits don’t provide our bodies with the right mix of activities, including a sufficient range of movements, to develop good
functional fitness.

Exercise such as jogging or lifting weights can be very beneficial if done properly. However, on their own they don’t develop real holistic fitness, and often they score poorly for developing functional fitness. Many people who run and/or do weight training have poor flexibility, joint stability and core strength.

Holistic fitness as we get older
Holistic fitness is very important as we get older, if we wish to live an active and enjoyable life for as long as possible. Ongoing investment in our overall fitness helps to minimise injuries and the aches and pains that often become a nuisance as we get older. Holistic fitness training is also very beneficial for our minds and spirits. It makes us feel better in general, including more positive and confident. It also provides opportunities to release stress, clarify our thoughts, relax and enhance our determination and self-discipline.

Misleading advertising about improving our fitness
There is a lot of misleading advertising that tries to sell us ways to improve our fitness. The claims made are often unrealistic or simply untrue. There is no better example of this than the ‘all new’ machines for exercising our abdominal muscles. Every year, we are told that they will totally change the way we look and feel if we use them for about 10 minutes a day. A little knowledge of exercise physiology confirms that such claims are false. And by the way, holistic fitness goes beyond and is much more valuable over time than simply having firm abdominal muscles.