Everyday athlete
/ˈɛvrɪdeɪ,ɛvrɪˈdeɪ /ˈaθliːt/A person who prioritizes a healthy, and physically active lifestyle in order to live life to the fullest.
In the U.S.A. and U.K., approximately 60% of all adults aged 18-64 are considered completely sedentary. They do no intended exercise, have completely inactive jobs, and spend more than 14 hours each day sitting on various types of chairs (couches, office chairs, car seats, etc.).
According to the World Health Organization statistics, a further 20% of all adults do a little bit of daily movement, but not enough to maintain health.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on this statistic.
This means that 80% of the U.S.A and U.K. adult population DO NOT do enough daily activity to maintain health.
80 freaking percent.
It’s a statistic that astounds me every time I hear and see it.
So that leaves a remaining 20% of all adults who regularly exercise to an adequate degree. But what does adequate mean?
This differs slightly from one government organization to another, but generally, it’s considered 30 minutes of brisk walking or jogging per day and some regular resistance training to help with strength and bone density.
I would strongly argue that this IS NOT adequate exercise and would question this from a professional standpoint.
My personal and professional experience would guesstimate that less than 10% of the U.K. and U.S.A. adult population are doing adequate exercise to maintain optimal health.
That is sad to me. Truly sad.
To me, that means that less than 10% of the adult population can physically enjoy everything the world has to offer.
Less than 10% of the adult population partake in anything they wish to and are able to do it whenever, however they want.
In my humble opinion, this needs to change, and as a collective group of everyday athletes, we have a responsibility to encourage others to step up to join our humble society.
To join the 10%.
For me, being an everyday athlete means being able to do all the fun stuff life has to offer like hiking, biking, running, and swimming. It means having the strength to do the not-so-fun stuff that life can throw at you, such as carrying a heavy suitcase through a huge airport because the wheels broke and knowing you have just a few minutes to get to your connecting flight. Or being able to shovel a foot of snow off your driveway because your snow blower won’t start and you have to get to work. ~ Tricia Wyatt
Introducing The Everyday Athlete
Everyday athletes make the most of what they have, and they never settle for less than the life they are capable of living. It means being truly alive and awake to life – not asleep in life’s waiting room or on the couch.
Physical activity is part of the everyday athletes DNA. It’s not something they think that they MUST do. Physically activity is part of their day-to-day life. It makes them who they are. It defines them.
As everyday athletes, we continually reach out for newer, richer, and deeper life-changing experiences. It means using those experiences as a means for personal growth and pushing our boundaries mentally, physically, and intellectually for the betterment of ourselves, our family, and the world at large.
Everyday athletes take an active role in personal development. We are behind the wheel of our life, taking advantage of our unique and powerful potential as a person. We do things in life that motivate and inspire others to do something motivating and inspiring in theirs.
We maximize our capacity to experience what life has to offer around us. This, in turn, expands our consciousness and results in even more opportunities to have a broader range of life experiences.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ Neale Donald WalschClick To TweetThe key to life as an everyday athlete is to open your mind and stretch beyond your comfort zone. If you’re not being challenged or intentionally pushing yourself beyond the realm of things that are familiar to you, then the experiences you’re having are no longer changing you.
Anything you do that limits your ability to experience the breadth of life reduces your ability to live life to the fullest.
If the point of living life to the fullest is to maximize your capacity for taking advantage of what life has to offer you, then this involves maximizing the length of your life as well.
Everyday athletes are not limited to the confines of a gym. They see the gym as a tool for maximizing life’s experiences. They live for life outside the gym, just as much as they live for life inside it.
Everyday athletes are not bound to any one tool, activity, or methodology. They believe in fundamental principles for health. They aim to experience everything that life has to offer.
From strength training to running. From biking to skiing. From team sports to individual events. Everyday athletes embrace it all. They’re prepared for anything that life throws their way. They welcome the challenge.
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” ~ Diane AckermanClick To TweetEveryday athletes look beyond the hype and hyperbole of the fitness industry. They seek substance. They seek the truth. They seek clarity.
Everyday athletes seek performance, but not at the sacrifice of health and longevity. Everyday athletes know they’re in it for the long game.
Health comes first for all everyday athletes.
No short cuts, no quick fixes. Everyday athletes work hard, knowing they will reap the rewards in the long run.
While living life to the fullest, everyday athletes are all about collecting experiences. They don’t simply believe in knocking items off a bucket list, and it isn’t a competition to “do the most things before death.”
For everyday athletes, it is about acquiring strength and wisdom from the challenges one has overcome and having experiences that alter how one perceives the world.
And from these challenges, they use their experience and wisdom to lift others. They help others raise their standards so they too can join the humble society of everyday athletes.
For an everyday athlete, if you really want to live life to the fullest, you must make a habit of always reaching for new experiences that push you to grow, and when you’re busy growing, your growth is having a positive influence on others. That’s when you’ll know you’re truly maximizing your life as an everyday athlete.
But there’s one thing that binds us together, and that is we abide by the everyday athlete code:
The Everyday Athlete Code
- I Love Life
- I’m A Work In Progress
- I Inspire Others
- I Embrace Challenge
I am an Everyday Athlete
Because life’s better as an everyday athlete.
I’m interested about the seven movements, does the everyday athlete video explain more? The Whiteboard Wednesday?
How about this instead… we’re just releasing the Whiteboard Wednesday about the 7 Human Movements – https://youtu.be/HiMrO1T9grg