Your exercise habits are a force multiplier

​Here’s what we mean: If you are a parent, grandparent, and/or have any young people in your orbit, the fact that you work out frequently and consistently means you are not only furthering your own fitness.  You are positively affecting the health of those who look up to you.
 
Here’s a disturbing fact: According to the NIH, 41.5% of youth ages 2-19 are in the overweight to severely obese range.  That is a huge public health crisis coming at us like a freight train. 
 
Here’s another fact: children emulate their parents, for better or worse.  When they see you sweat, struggle, and prevail in the gym, year after year, chances are very good they are going to incorporate that ideal into their lives, and the wellness habits they develop as kids will persist into adulthood.
 
We see our Team Fitness parents struggle daily with competing demands: work, household management, kids’ activities, feeding everyone! Shoehorning your own fitness into all that can be really, really hard. That’s why we recommend installing the following mantra in your morning thoughts:
            I must take care of myself in order to care well for my family.
 
Just as the flight attendants say: oxygen for yourself first.  It might be counterintuitive, but it is the opposite of selfish.
 
So the next time you are arguing with yourself about whether you “have time” to work out, remember: The three to six hours you spend in the gym each week are just as important as the hours you spend with the kids.