How Fitness has Become a Vital Part of our Daily Routine

When you define fitness, it has such a broad meaning. Everyone has their own unique goals, strength, abilities, and methods to stay fit and active. In general, fitness has become an increasingly important part of many people’s lives. Staying fit doesn’t just mean being in shape; it’s a way of dealing with stress, relaxing, and staying present. This article looks at the main reasons why so many people have adopted a more active lifestyle, the key benefits of regular fitness, and how to start your fitness journey. Our Gym Flooring customers share their views on just how fitness is so important to them. 

In this article: 

• Why Do We Keep Fit?
• 3 Benefits of Regular Exercise 
• What Does Fitness Mean To You? 
• How to Start Your Own Fitness Journey
• Regular Fitness Benefits Mental and Physical Health 

A significant body of evidence tells us that regular physical activity and high fitness levels are associated with a reduced risk of early death. Being physically active and moving your body each day has numerous benefits. It can boost your mood and feel-good hormones and help you to manage your weight. In addition, exercise can help you to create balance in your routine, socialise with friends, and increase your self-confidence. 

Another reason for the recent upsurge in fitness is the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, the coronavirus crisis has impacted many areas of our lives. Although it’s been a tough time, it has prompted many people to improve their general health and exercise more frequently. The pandemic has pulled focus on mental health. It’s no secret that regular exercise is closely linked to mental wellbeing. Being active and moving your body can improve your general perspective on life and sense of self. This is especially important during challenging times. 

It’s often easy to think about how fitness can benefit your physical health, but its benefits go beyond your body. It can have a considerable impact on your mind, how you feel, and your lifestyle. 

When you push your body regularly and get your heart pumping, it can have several physical benefits. Frequent fitness not only affects your body now but can help to keep you living a healthier life for longer. Proven physical benefits of exercise include: 

• Reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke
• Manage your weight 
• Lower the risk of types 2 diabetes and some cancer
• Improve bone and joint strength 
• Increase flexibility and mobility 
• Lower blood cholesterol level 
• Tone muscles and build muscle mass 

Exercise can do wonders for your mental wellbeing as well. Regular physical activity can improve mental health by:

• Reducing anxiety and depression 
• Improve self-esteem 
• Improve cognitive function and sleep 
• Relieve stress 
• Enhance mood 

As well as fitness being good for mental wellbeing, regular physical exercise is the way it can impact your lifestyle and social life. When you participate in group exercise or workout with a partner, there are several benefits, such as: 

• Develop better social skills 
• Make new friends
• Create a new social outlet 
• Develop a routine 
• Improve the balance of your daily life 
• Spend time with friends and family  

Fitness can mean something different to everyone. For some, it’s how they carve out some time for themselves. For others, it could be how they maintain a healthy weight. Our Gym Flooring customers reveal just what fitness means to them. 

"I've always been into fitness. I've previously run the London marathon along with other sports events. I enjoy the thrill of a race or achieving a new PB, and I love watching hard work pay off. I previously thought fitness just impacted my physical wellbeing, but since March 2019, I've realised it's so much more. First, the gyms closed, then I felt pregnant and trying to get back into fitness was hard. I had to force myself to go to the gym (I never understood when people said this, but I can now totally relate). 

Our son was in intensive care for a month and has been in and out of it over the past nine months, so fitness was not my top priority. However, I started to notice my mood and general wellbeing was very poor.

Getting back into the gym has been a game-changer. I'm motivated, fitter and a better person and mum. Even though I still have to build myself up to work out, I always feel better after and never regret it! I find doing some exercise first thing in the morning really sets me up for the day! Since we are new parents travelling to a gym isn't practical anymore, so we converted our old garage into a gym and it's perfect since we can use it in-between naptimes and can maximise our time working out without having to travel."

"Fitness has always been a key part of my life, but as I am now over 60 (both hips replaced due to arthritis), I realised how even more important it is as we get older. Older people must keep physically active, and it's no use using excuses that we aren't feeling as well, don't have as much energy, have lost mobility, and all other excuses you hear from older people. Most symptoms are because people don't do enough exercise and then start eating too much for their energy output. 

"Fitness is has helped me lose weight and achieve more than I ever imagined. Travelling to new places both UK and world wide I now complete crazy challenges charity and have some amazing experiences whilst doing it. This year is Namibia for racetothewreck. This is a 5 day adventure in the desert covering nearly 200 miles on bike on foot all for ChildrenwithCancer"

"Keeping fit is core to how I feel. I can start the day cycling; lifting weights; HIIT, or yoga. All of it makes me feel alive and in touch with my body. I also like how my children get inspired to also exercise and keep fit. Feeling fit makes me feel good about myself; relaxed, and with high energy levels. Over lockdown, I’m pleased to say that I invested in building a purpose-built room, but before that, I was training in the garage and garden. So make the most of what you have."

"Sport has always been a part of my life. From the age of 10, I started kayaking and turned professional at the age of 17. From training 3 times a week to 3 times a day, 6 days a week, it is part of me. My main drivers are my love for the movement of kayaking, that feeling of gliding on top of the water, that feeling when I hit a Personal Best in the gym/ Time trail and that proud feeling of putting on a Team GB kit. It made me who I was for 10 years, so when I retired after Rio 2016, I found myself lost. Becoming a mum made me realise that I wanted to be strong for my daughter so becoming a Personal Trainer allowed me to still have sport in my day to day life, support others hit goals and work around her naps!.

Here is my workout space. We have built it down the end of our garden, and with lockdown encouraging people to go online; it seemed like the perfect time to build a designated area for this. I was previously based in our attic, so for me, this space is a dream. Gym Flooring has been so worth it and gives that elite touch that clients love." 

You can’t stress the importance of a personal workout space enough. As many of our customers have realised, you don’t need a massive amount of space to start your fitness journey. Investing in a personal space to exercise is about investing in your health and overall wellbeing. By creating an area where you can show up for yourself, work out, and feel good, you can remain consistent. 

A home gym can be a spare bedroom, a nook in the living room corner, or a couple of gym mats with some dumbbells in your kitchen. You can begin to introduce a set routine into your day to start enjoying regular fitness. Depending on the space you have, here are a few essentials for setting up your home gym: 

• Rubber flooring - invest in some quality rubber home gym flooring to create a strong foundation for fitness. Gym flooring helps to absorb shock and provide a non-slip surface. 
• Free weights - equipment like barbells, dumbbells, and weight plates are a great place to start when setting up your gym. 
• Resistance bands - these are affordable and space-saving pieces of equipment that create resistance in the body and work with a variety of exercises. 

You can turn a garage into the perfect home garage gym in a few key steps. Start by decluttering your garage so you can see what space you have available. Next, you can invest in equipment like free weights, a stationary exercise bike, a treadmill, and a weights bench. Garage flooring tends to be sturdy enough to handle any heavy equipment. But, it’s important that you install some gym flooring as concrete can be tough on bones and joints during exercise.  

If you’re short on space, you can benefit from outdoor fitness. You can create a purpose-built garden gym, an outdoor gym with a temporary cover, or just a collection of a few pieces of fitness equipment. You really can build a gym out of what you have. In addition, you can make the most out of the great outdoors by doing activities like walking, jogging, hiking, and cycling. Try joining an online class or workout session and follow along with the fitness instructor from your home or garden. 

To build an outdoor gym, some basic outdoor gym equipment to think about include: 

• Thick rubber gym flooring 
• Pull-up bar 
• Free weights 
• Skipping rope 
• Agility ladder 

The great thing about fitness is that it can benefit all types of people. You can have various age groups, abilities, levels of fitness, and activities that all allow you to benefit from fitness. It’s these rewards that motivate us all to continue on the journey of fitness. The bottom line is that investing in the time and space for fitness pays off in the short term and well into the future. 

You may also be interested in:-

Top five Home Gym Upgrades to Boost Results

Top Tips for Buying Table Tennis Flooring

Types of Home Fitness Spaces - What is the Best Type for Me?