Peace, much blessings and good health to you, it’s been a while since I’ve sent a blog post your way and I’m happy to be back blogging. My name is Hanif and you’re reading the realist Men’s blog for ‘Fitness Lifestyle’ in-line with the finality of revealed books – The Noble Qur’an, and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is ‘Be the Criterion’ and you’re welcome to call me Abu Abdulaziz, Hanif or George (assuming you’ve known me for that long).
Goal?! To reawaken your mind to the ‘Fitness Lifestyle’ like no other brother has. Yeah, exercise is many things to many people, but I care about how you perceive fitness and physical activity! As for me, I love getting active but over the years my engagement has taken knocks that rattled me to the core and I’m climbing back to the mountain I slipped back from, can you relate to that? Yes, my friend, we all have setbacks on the road to good physical health and if the physical isn’t in check, you’ll find the mental will take a hammering too.
By the knowledge, wisdom, and mercy of our ‘One true God,’ he has subjected the earth to conform and fold to mankind. By his wisdom he created us as his slaves and worshippers, our job being to seek out nearness to him in this life before the return to him (the most high – the majestic). During our time here there are many roads to cross and struggles to pass through. The prophet to ‘all of Mankind and Jinn,’ Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) did not leave this life and finish his role as a messenger of Allah (the most high) except that he fulfilled what he was entrusted to do which was convey the message of Tawheed, first and foremost.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught his companions many things of which we still learn, study and act upon to this today. Times have changed but the people remain people, and sadly for us as times have changed and ease becomes more widespread so does our desire for entertainment, over and above the reality of life, which we can often push aside until later. With such ease has come the issue of inactivity and obesity which can be a by-product of our inactivity.
Did you know that 24.8% of the population of England, in May 2018/19 would have been classed as inactive! 12% were fairly active – getting in 30-mins to 2hrs 29-mins of training a week, and 63.2% stating they are active and getting 150+ minutes of exercise each week. That 63.2% equates to 28.6 million people which is great improvement!
Online is most definitely the realm of fitness as opposed to TV and Radio. View YouTube for any amount of time and you’ll find adverts from Gyms, workout and stretch videos, vlogs, interviews and many sports competitions being showcased on the site. No doubt, when you leave your home today, you’ll likely see some sporting media and even joggers racing through your area. Exercise and the signs of physical activity are all around you, so what’s stopping you?
Time: When time is an issue it’s imperative that you make the time! If you can take the time to sit down after a day’s work and put your hands on a remote control you can exchange that for a dumbbell, kettlebell, and resistance band – at home! Your determination and the right training plan is all you need. Start your day earlier if you prefer but finding just 45 minutes within each day can snowball into real change.
Confidence: When one feels shy to exercise this can be a good thing, safeguarding yourself from ‘Evil Eye’ and from issues to do with your religion. However, if you don’t find somewhere discreet, you’ll never get anything done so I’d recommend training at a time that is less busy in your local 24-hour gym which would usually be late night and early, early morning! You could decide to workout one-day-on and one-day-of, to not be noticed. The equipment you use and a training plan as well as Personal Training sessions will also help you to build confidence.
Money: Finding a friend with similar goals to you will help you save money assuming the training programme you use is split down the middle. If a gym isn’t an option, the two or more of you can start a running group and exercise in a local park using bodyweight exercises.
Weather: Training indoors is the best way to go for many people that want to start or maintain their training in the colder seasons, especially in England. A gym, swimming pool, indoor squash or basketball, indoor football as well as home kettlebell training and stretching are ways to exercise without being outside.
Disability: Having a disability shouldn’t stop one from exercise in totality. Maybe your health issue will make some movements difficult, or it could be an illness un-noticeable to the majority of people. Whatever the case, it would be best to consult your GP and build a connection with a qualified Personal Trainer who has the ability and knowledge of your health condition or will research your condition, to design a programme that will meet your needs in a safe and structured way.
Let your blocks to exercise be gone just as falsehood fled from the truth in the time and life of the Prophet Muhammad. Fitness training is many things to many people as I previously said, but by you reading this you’ve taken a step closer to your fitness goal. Your age, ethnicity, gender – none of these should matter when it comes to your own health and maintaining it. The signs are all around you! Get to it!
I can help you reach your health goal with structured Personal Training in your area of South London and/or Home. Online Live sessions are also available so all that’s left is for you to get your trainers ready and prepare to see the best of yourself. The path is tiring but the ‘Fitness Lifestyle’ is part of the ‘Prophetic Lifestyle’ – the Sunnah, and as such needs to be taken seriously!
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