It has been such a fantastic start to the New Year, with many new members joining both one2oneFitness and also Fitness Xpress, our ladies-only gym, and the results are really starting to show!

But if you were asked the question, 'are you fit and healthy?' what would be your reply?

Many people believe they are healthy through diet, and therefore do not need to exercise and perceive themselves as 'fit', but there is a BIG difference between being fit and being healthy.

Being Healthy means to be free from disease or illness, and so quite often, because people are healthy they misinterpret this as being fit. The true meaning of being fit, is to be able to do your daily tasks and more without getting breathless or tired. Over recent years, as a nation, we have become lazy, and seen our activity levels as a social group decrease quite dramatically. No longer do we walk to work as a matter of routine – we take the car. No longer do we have to get up off the sofa tochange channels on the television – we simply use the remote. Escalators have replaced stairs in many of the large shopping centres and stairwells stand redundant. And now as our next generation emerges from childhood to adolescence, even our children rarely 'go out to play' as so many of us did as children, instead preferring to stay indoors with their video games and DVDs. These are of course, generalisations, and do not apply to everyone, but the obesity epidemic currently sweeping both our country and many others only further highlights how our advances in technology and great strides in 'making our lives easier' have certainly done the trick, but have also helped to make our lives less active in the process.

Little by little, our bodies have slowed down without us even realising it, to the extent that the thought of exercise to many people will now make them feel quite nauseous, and even just the word 'exercise' can be quite frightening. But perhaps if we replace the word 'exercise' with ‘activity', some of us will see the world of fitness with new eyes.

We all need to increase our activity levels to improve our health, fitness levels and general well-being and therefore this should not be a chore. We can all make exercise and 'activity' fun and enjoyable - the key is finding the right one for you! So take the first step towards a fitter, healthier you, and call One2one Fitness today to see how we can help you find the right activity to achieve a happier, healthier you!