Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I find inspiration in the strangest of places. Mike pointed me in the direction of this article about photography. It’s written by Ken Rockwell, an award winning photographer. He writes about how the camera you have doesn’t matter. He gives an example of his most famous photograph (shown above), which was taken with a broken camera. He says, “The important part of that image is that I stayed around after my friends all blew off for dinner.”

• Ken Rockwell – Your Camera Does Not Matter

What does all this have to do with fitness?

Ken Rockwell said the following:

“Your equipment DOES NOT affect the quality of your image. The less time and effort you spend worrying about your equipment the more time and effort you can spend creating great images. The right equipment just makes it easier, faster or more convenient for you to get the results you need.”

If I just change a few words, you’ll see what it means to fitness:

Your equipment DOES NOT affect your fitness level. The less time and effort you spend worrying about your equipment the more time and effort you can spend exercising. The right equipment just makes it easier, faster or more convenient for you to get the results you need.

There have been so many times that I have worried about my treadmill’s slipping belt when I should be worrying about getting my butt out the door. There have been so many times when I have drooled over exercise bikes that connect to my Xbox when I should have been pulling my bike out of the shed in the backyard. No matter how many fitness toys I buy, they won’t make me strong and fit unless I use them. Sometimes it feels like buying them is more fun than using them.

Next time you find yourself fussing over exercise equipment, remember to just exercise. You don’t need a treadmill, you need a stretch of land to run on. You don’t need an exercise bike (or a fancy mountain bike, for that matter), all you need is a leftover Huffy from the thrift store. As long as the tires are inflated and that pedals turn the wheels, it will work for you.