Let’s Be Real About Our Health

We all are aware of the need for health and fitness in our lives, but how many of us can honestly say we make health and fitness a priority?

Canadians are not well. Mind, body and soul. When I first began to observe this, my first thought was that being fit had something to do with privilege. Growing up in working class neighborhoods that poured into affluent suburbs, I always noticed that my friends that lived in houses went skiing, went to the cottage, and swam with dolphins during March break or rock climbed in Nevada during the summer months.

Yet across the street, we did nothing. Our annual trips to Center Island and Canada’s wonderland were the closest we got to being outdoors with our families and being physically active.

Everyone in my community was unhappy. When I say everyone I mean adults. The Canadian working class community is the backbone to the stability and functionality of Canadian society. My own father worked 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. I loved my father. He meant the world to me. He was university educated from a British Ivy league university who broke his back and spirit under the weight of having to stabilize and maintain function of Canadian life for all its citizens.

My mother was just as brilliant. Educated abroad and here in Canada, my mother struggled with not being able to pursue a career and the confinement of the immigrant women’s experience as symbolic border guards. Forced into a domestic role with no familial or community support, like many mothers isolated to their domestic realms, my mother was unhappy. My parents, my family and family friends all had poor mental health. Growing up I knew how great it felt to be active. I experienced it firsthand. I also knew even as a young child, that the adults around me were overworked, over-stressed and so busy providing that they felt there was no time to care for themselves. In all honesty, there wasn't.

I blamed the system, the nation, structural oppression, colonialism, racism, and classism. I was hurt. I was devastated. I was angry. As I matured, my heart always stayed close to the community and I began to engage in community development. I began to see similarities in my surrounding community and my family and friends. I felt that if I could only help communities overcome structural challenges, they would be able to lift themselves out of the labour class and forever break the cycle of impoverishment, my community would have more time for self-care, thus improving mental health.

Years went by, even decades and although I was inspiring and motivating community members to raise their consciousness through my affiliation with various community groups’ mental health was not improving. In fact, I came to realize that poor mental health was the bane to bridging the gap between the labour class, brain drain and a higher income potential.

The world of community development already knew what I was realizing but like myself many of those in the trenches of community development felt with the limited government funding available, education and training should be a priority for community development. After all self-care comes at a cost. Many community workers felt that if individuals could just get earning everything else would fall into place. Especially mental health.

What a grave error.

Let us fast forward now 6 years. My passion for health and fitness stayed close to me. As an adult, mother of three, post-secondary student and working individual, I struggled to maintain a sufficient level of fitness to keep me energized and strong enough to manage my lifestyle. At first, I blamed myself. I think the blame game, self-guilt are the premise to the negative internalization of motherhood or for any familial relation for that fact women have to their families and society. Thank socially constructed femininity for that.

I knew I still loved to be active, but just could not find the time. Was really time the barrier holding me back from physical fitness or was it because I did not see it as a priority?

A few more years went by and things took a toll for the worse. One morning as I watched the sun climb up over the Humber River sipping my tea and appreciating creation, life and all its splendors. I decided to wake up the family and plan a family bike ride down the trails. One by one, I woke up each family member and tried to get everyone ready. My two little ones dragged themselves across the living room and while rubbing their eyes turned on the t.v. and plopped right down in front of it. “Ah, hello? We are going for a bike ride? Go get ready while I fix breakfast?” I said to the kids. Like little zombies they turned to me and said, “We are tired, Mom, we just got up, we need some time.” Were this kids for real? Tired from resting?

I walked to my eldest child’s room found him awake but still lying in bed. When questioned he gave a similar response. I almost choked. What the heck was going on? I felt like I was losing my mind. Took another few steps towards my own bedroom and heard my partner give the same response as the other three. I could have just fell over and died. How can you be tired of sleeping and need more time to rest from resting?

I was sickened to the core. I felt disgusted. Disappointed in myself (there’s that motherly guilt rearing its ugly face again). Guilty or not, I knew something had to be done. I had been busy the last few years completing my undergrad, and because of my busy schedule, health and fitness for my family had been brushed under the carpet.

I had to do something and fast. I did the only thing I knew best for my family which was to be a leader. As leader of my household I needed to lead by example. But how? Well, I became a personal trainer. Yes, I was passionate about health and fitness my whole life. As a child I heavily participated in hurdles, 100 m sprints, 400 m relay, volleyball, tennis, badminton and running long jump. I loved track and field. Even as I write about those times I feel a tingling sensation running through my body. That’s my body remembering too.

Somewhere in my identity a link was disconnected from my past fitness level, to understanding the importance of health and fitness and my current fitness level. That link was knowledge. My knowledge as a personal trainer bridged the gap between what I knew I needed to do for myself and as well as my family and those closest to me and to incorporate it into my life, without having to sacrifice the things my family and I were already involved in.

As amazing, talented and multifaceted I felt my life was, to my family, I was just Mom. Really to them, what did Mom know about health and fitness? I felt that by becoming a personal trainer I would have more credibility. It turned out personal training did more for me than I could have ever imagined. I transformed my life as well as my families.

Through this personal transformation I came to another revelation. Canadians are not well. Mind, body and soul. You see, after becoming a personal trainer, I began to see commonalities in the level of fitness through the members of my gym. Members that were a part of all levels of society. Business professionals, people in trades, students, seniors and domestic workers. What I found was Canadians in general, regardless of their class were unhealthy. Severely unhealthy. Poor mental health, high body fat percentages, little to none upper and lower body strength and upper cross syndrome in epidemic proportions.

All this time my passion to help my community through advocacy and education towards upward mobility was being fought through a weak angle. Pun intended. Poor mental and physical health was not just a labour class problem. Canadians from all walks of life are unfit. This realization made see that its time Canadians got real about their health.

My goal for this blog is to inspire, motivate and ignite a new passion for health and fitness in each and every Canadians life. My posts will involve personal stories of transformation and an outlet to provide Canadians with information related to health and fitness. The fitness industry is just as misleading as any form of enterprise in our capitalist society. I would like to provide a medium where anyone can access tips and motivation towards incorporating health and fitness into their lives at a level which can actually improve their body composition, reduce body fat, increase agility, balance, flexibility, mobility, speed, strength and of course mental health. It’s not about having enough money or having enough time. It’s about self-care. It’s about making physical fitness a priority. It’s about investing in your senior years now, just like RRSP’s but for your physical and mental self. Exercise is the best medicine. It’s about being a better you, the best you can be, no matter who you are.

Please join me in my mission to help each and every Canadian live the GoodLife for themselves and everyone around them.

Shazia Sharif

Personal Trainer &

Transformation Coach

Shazia.Sharif@goodlifemakesiteasy.com