Your Independence Inventory

I’m breaking this into two separate inventories: your physical inventory, focusing on muscles bones and joints, and your logistics inventory. Let’s begin with your physical inventory. To make this easier, we created a printable checklist that you’ll find in the Basic Health Info section of drchet.com.

Physical Inventory

Let’s start with some of the factors that can impact your ability to exercise, whether that’s getting fitter, stronger, or more flexible:

Can you sit and stand without assistance? Do you need assistance whether in the form of a walker or arms on the chair? All of those require basic muscular strength and balance.

Can you walk without assistance? How about with assistance? How far can you walk? I know this sounds so basic, but everyone starts somewhere. How fast you can walk also matters.

Can you bend over at the waist? Do you lose your balance if you do that? How about squatting? Full squat, half squat, quarter squat, or not at all?

Can you get on an exercise bike or an elliptical trainer or a treadmill? In order to use them, you have to be able to balance well enough to get on them first. If you’ve never been on a treadmill, you don’t really know whether that’s possible for your fitness program or not. Some people have balance issues they never knew existed.

Can you stand in place with your eyes closed, or do you get dizzy? Can you touch your finger to your nose with your eyes closed while holding your arms horizontal to the floor? This test may be associated with assessing your degree of drunkenness, but you’ve got to be able to do it sober first.

Can you raise your arms above your head? Can you bend your arms at the elbow? Can you do a bicep curl with a can of vegetables? Can you lift it above your head?

Can you usually grip the lid of a sealed jar well enough to open it? Everyone’s grip strength deteriorates over time, so it’s important to know where you rate.

Can you get on the floor on your hands and knees? Can you lie face down on the flood? Can you lie face up? Can you get up off the floor without leaning on any piece of furniture?

Can you walk up a flight of stairs? Can you walk up a single stair and step down again?

Logistics Inventory

Logistics for getting healthier requires that you assess your assets and liabilities. You’ve got to know whether you have the time, the equipment, the time, the space, the time, the gym membership, the time… Are you getting the idea that time is important here? That’s the single biggest reason people quit an exercise program, and for most, it’s the reason they never start.

Do you have the time in your schedule, while getting reasonable sleep, to exercise? Early in the day? Lunch? Before dinner? In the evening? Every day? Three days per week? Does it depend on your children’s after-school activity schedule?

What equipment do you have? Do you like it enough to use it? Do you have exercise tubes or bands? Weights like dumbbells or barbells? Do you have mats for floor routines? Do you like exercising while watching videos or do you prefer music?

Are you a member of a gym or club? Can you get there on a regular basis? Is there enough equipment to do what you like to do? Does it have a pool in case swimming is your thing?

Do you have the time to prepare meals if eating better is your goal? Do you have a selection of the right tools to cook well? It’s easier if you have the right spices, knives, cookware, and cook wear (might as well have a cute apron). Do you have the budget to buy healthier ingredients?

What are you willing to eat on a regular basis? I’ve made it clear I’m not drinking smoothies or eating bars, at least, not very much. That means it takes more time for prep and cooking.

If you’re not exercising at home, is your car dependable?

Do you live in a safe neighborhood to walk or jog?

Those are just some of the logistical factors to consider before you get to working toward your health goals.

If you’re thinking this is just for old people, nope—I suggest you do this no matter what your age. Mark your calendar to inventory your physical state every year when you get your annual physical. You may find that although you’re only in your 30s, you can’t easily get up off the floor. The time to work on that is now; don’t wait another decade or two to work on your physical independence. You’re building your health future. Take a full inventory before you start your plan; that’s the way to gain the health independence we all want to have.

What are you prepared to do today?