Make 2026 The Year You Get Super Fit
Nothing feels as good as when you feel fit.
If you have big goals that you want to achieve this year or in the next few years, make this year the time when you get super fit.
There’s no right or wrong way to become super fit. It’s a trajectory based on your own starting point. Become a better version of yourself, don’t strive to be world class at anything, unless you’re already on that path.
Being more fit helps you with every other goal that you have. It’ll make your life better in more ways than you can imagine until you’ve actually achieved it.
If you have a goal be more active or achieve something physical, it’s obvious, but if you want to write more, create more, or do more, you need to have the energy for it that a better functioning body can handle. And being fit gives you the ability to endure more when trying to achieve goals and the mental fortitude to handle whatever comes in your way.
Fitness Should Be A Lifelong Journey
In the past several years, I’ve had to reinvent and redefine what fitness is to me.
For over 12 years that meant being as strong as possible. I competed at the top level of the sport of strongman in Canada. Flipping giant tires, pulling trucks, and picking up cement Atlas stones was what an average Saturday for me. But tweaking my lower back while lifting heavy weights a few times a year turned into a disc herniation that meant competing in strongman was no longer an option for me. At least not one that I wanted to continue with. Pursuing a hobby with the chances of ending my ability to ever walk or move well again was not a risk I was willing to take anymore. So I gave up my aspirations of being number one in Canada and tried to find other ways to enjoy fitness again that wouldn’t hurt my back.
Experiment Until You Find What Sticks
Many people, maybe even most people, hate the feeling of being out of breath and training hard. So slogging through workouts just because they have to is dreadful and never sticks as a habit for them. If you keep trying new forms of exercise I guarantee that you’ll find something that you can enjoy and become hooked on. This first happened to me in high school when I started playing basketball. Suddenly the hard work and heavy breathing of working out became something fun. Then when the pandemic hit and all the gyms closed, I picked up a bike for the first time since I was a kid and rode it each day to pass the time. It beat running and I thoroughly enjoyed it . This year I’ve gotten back on the bike following recovering from the disc herniation and now I’m obsessed with it.
This journey of rediscovering fitness has led me to start 2026 feeling close to the fittest I’ve ever been. Perhaps, besides a couple of years in high school while playing basketball, and in university, I haven’t felt this capable of training and exercising endlessly before. A high heart rate used to be a reason to stop, slow down, or gasp for breath. Now I lean into that feeling because I know I can sustain it for a long time without crashing after. It’s an empowering feeling, especially if you’ve been forced to pivot or are feeling down about your ability to achieve your goals.
You don’t have to spend hours a day exercising, or even be active 7 days a week to become super fit. Start with whatever you can but make sure that it’s a priority in your routine. It takes time to notice the changes take shape. At first you’ll face some of that discomfort but eventually you’ll notice your energy and ability to do other tasks in your life improve, you’ll be moving around easier, your focus will improve, and you’ll feel motivated to work on other goals you want to accomplish.
Becoming super fit isn’t just a practice of self-improvement for the sake of vanity. It’s your ticket to getting to do more of anything you want.
