Tied to be fit...

I forgot to mention yesterday that I donated blood yesterday - they took me this time! I'm very psyched.

I also caught the second part of the Farscape miniseries, which I won't talk much about because I know several of my more northern readers haven't been able to see it yet. I will say that it absolutely blew me away...

Still been a bit busy, so I'll just lay a meme on you. This was last week's Friday Forum - physical fitness:
1] Do you consider yourself a physically fit person? Why/why not?
I don't think I'm physically fit, at least according to many definitions. I'm heavier than I've ever been when not pregnant, and it does show....but I'm also probably in better shape (more strength, endurance, muscle mass) than at any other point in my life. I'm not completely a fat slob, but I'm still far from where I'd ideally like to be.

2] What are your favorite types of exercise? Do you have any favorite sports that you enjoy participating in, and how often do you work out?
I joined Curves about a year and a half ago. Other than a few months related to a job change that threw me off schedule, I've been trying to go about 3x a week. I enjoy it (otherwise I wouldn't stay with it), although I need to be better about making time to do it.
If I lived further north (where there's real terrain and seasons) I'd probably go walking more often. I've taken aikido and fencing at various points in my life, and if either of them were easily accessible (time as well as location!) I'd do those.

3] Do you follow any special eating plans, diets, nutritional philosophies, weight-loss goals, etc.? Why or why not? How long have you been doing so, and have you had success with them?
Yeah right. I've never had much luck with diets, but also haven't spent a lot of time trying them. I generally try to eat healthy things, but I do get on the occasional junk-food run. I do have a goal of getting down to 25% body fat - it would be physically impossible for me to get down to what I weighed when I got married - my current muscle mass is more than that!

4] What would you most like to change about your physical appearance? Which features of your body do you like the most?

I'd like my hair to grow faster, and I'd love not to be heavy in the hips. (Even when I was rather underweight I was heavy in the hips! Blasted genetics...) Granted, if bustles ever come back into fashion, I am set! ("Baby got back") I'm not too keen on my nose or feet, but those are a bit further down on my list.
I probably like my hair the most. DH likes my face and eyes.

5] Do you feel that it's important to encourage children to become involved in sports? Why/why not? Did you participate in athletics when you were growing up?

I do feel it's important for children to be involved in physical activity, although I believe they should do so because *they* want to, not because their parents want to raise the next Mia Hamm or Serena Williams. Children are pressured to do too many extracurriculars nowadays, to their detriment.
Was I involved in athletics? *wry laugh* Um...no. My parents were very discouraging of PE, and I'm also what a friend of mine called an "unco" - uncoordinated. My first involvement in non-mandated physical activity was a semester of aikido my sophomore year of college...I would have continued, but I dislocated my shoulder (not in aikido, incidentally).
I did play street football/kickball/jump rope, if that counts...