Chris Wilke and Kyle Valery; Stretch Affect

Consider for a moment the habits that are commonplace to maintaining your health. What comes to mind?

You might list the food you put in your body, your exercise routines, and daily preventative care, like brushing your teeth, flossing, and bathing. It only seems natural, right? However, how many of you mentioned stretching?

When was the last time you paid attention to your mobility? A week? A month? Longer? 

It’s no surprise that America is in a bit of a quandary when it comes to health, fitness, and the understanding of our bodies. In our latest podcast, The Art of Making Things Happen, we discussed the unique differences between health and fitness.

Leading the charge of helping educate America on the subtle and distinct differences between health and fitness are Chris & Kyle from Stretch Affect. At their gym in San Diego, they emphasize both of these principles with their clients with dramatic results.

The reason: health and fitness work in tandem.

The Dirty Truth About Fitness

Fitness is a word we throw around quite often in America, but what does it actually mean? Chances are, when you think of someone who is physically fit, the image of someone with chiseled abs and muscles everywhere is your definition, but is that all there is to fitness?

What comes to mind is a scene from the 80s movie Wildcats with Goldie Hahn. It’s a moment that stands out in the movie because she challenges a whole football team to a race and wins their respect.

As the rain pours down on the track, we see Goldie Hahn chugging away, arms pumping as each team member drops in exhaustion. One by one, each player falls to the mud and then gathers their pride, watching on their team’s sure defeat.

In the end, they understand, fitness is not the same as health.

Every day we are bombarded by advertisements telling us what fitness is. It’s that beefy guy lifting weights in the gym; It’s that chiseled person jumping around with a group; It’s cross-fit.

However, just because you can bench 300 pounds doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can join a cross-fit gym doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

Consider this: how many people do you know personally who started working out, trying to get fit, and got sidetracked by injury? Is that fitness? We think not.

What Is Health?

Health is all about being able to perform the movements required to perform a fitness goal. Maybe you want to drive the ball a few yards further off the tee.

You can swing harder, but it may hurt your back. The other option is to understand the mechanics of the movement and build up the muscles or flexibility to perform those movements optimally.

In this way, you can consider health as the foundation for real fitness. Being able to use a full range of motion, over a long period of time, without succumbing to injury—that’s fitness.

The ability to continually progress and crush physical fitness goals starts with a strong foundation of health. No one would go out and run a marathon tomorrow if they can’t run a mile today, yet, time and again, that’s the same thing people are doing with their bodies in pursuit of fitness.

Health deals with more than muscles. It pertains to your range of motion, breathing, ability to manage stress, and more. When our health aligns with a physical goal, fitness is the result.

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

Chris & Kyle are at the precipice of an awakening in the fitness craze. The truth of the matter is that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are your fitness goals.

If you’d like to learn more about the difference between health and fitness, listen to The Art of Making Things Happen Podcast to hear it from Chris & Kyle themselves.

If you’re curious about building a foundation of health to reach your fitness goals, schedule a free consultation with Chris & Kyle at Stretch Affect.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StretchAffect/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stretch_affect/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDg6xIwy5xsy2lCZa5ImTQA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stretch-affect/about/