What is fitness and where do we go to learn about fitness? Fitness is our ability to function with alertness and energy over the course of our daily activities. We have so many places to turn for fitness information, that it would be impossible to cover all the possibilities in one article. However, we’ll cover the most common places to look, and let the reader take it from there.
The major sources of fitness information are available to everyone, everywhere. Libraries, the internet, your physical fitness instructor, and your health teachers are all viable avenues of information sources. The library contains more information about health and fitness than you could possibly read in a year’s time. There are magazines, periodicals, medical journals, and all sorts of books written on ways to become fit, to maintain fitness, or to participate in fitness activities. There are sources of information that explain the benefits of being fit, the physical benefits, the mental benefits, the social benefits, and the self-esteem and emotional benefits. The library will also usually have video and audio information available on almost any topic covered by the reading material. They may even have fitness tapes available for viewing. Often, the library provides the opportunity for the low-income to access materials that otherwise would not be available. Video and audio tapes are examples of this opportunity.
The internet opens more windows on fitness than the library, since the internet is a compilation of many libraries, news articles, newspapers, and individual input. You have only to type in the word fitness using one of the available search engines, and suddenly you’ve got more sources of information than you can research. The search engines often return information in the order of actual relevance to your search words. So bear that in mind as you search. The first couple of pages will contain the most relevant information on fitness. You can locate information about fitness, local fitness center locations, and instructors who specialize in one-on-one fitness plans.
Your local school physical education instructor and health teachers are invaluable sources of fitness information, in that they have an education in fitness. They are privy to the most sought after reliable sources of real fitness benefits. Many of the articles you will find, and much of the information you read, is not 100% accurate, ask a teacher, or instructor actually involved in the fitness process, you are going to receive much more accurate feedback
Your federal government publishes massive quantities of information about the fitness in this country, from many different perspectives. The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for determining our daily recommended allowances, and as such, accumulates much information about fitness alternatives, the state of fitness in the United States, and how well we participate in fitness programs.
Past these sources, check out your local fitness center. Quite often they have random information posted, current magazines, and periodicals that address current fitness issues and often offer interested persons the chance to observe fitness in action.