What I think I need to work on, and why

In thinking about what I want to improve, it only makes sense to also explain why this is helpful.

Cardio function. The way my brain works, cardio function is the best overall indicator of fitness. It's what will let me play the sports I enjoy, take the stairs, go for a hike when the weather's nice, etc. I'm fine with the walking and stairs bit already; my current problem is endurance for anything more strenuous than walking. I have exercise induced asthma. Without my inhaler, I can last about 15-16 minutes into a run before I get black spots in my vision, which is a sure sign of anoxia. If I try to run further than this, a few minutes later I will feel like a sheet has been wrapped so tightly around my torso that I can't move my ribs. With my inhaler (a preventative albuterol one), I still end up stopping my run due to my breathing become labored, but in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm about to die. Because of this, the sports I've done most often in my life have either been sprints (which are over before I gasping), or are sports with lots of small stops built in (tennis, volleyball, fencing, etc). Long distance running is bad for me; soccer and frisbee are even worse. I'm turning to running from 1 to a handful of miles -- with my inhaler -- as a way to improve my endurance, give me a wider option of sports, and because it's one of the most universal and least equipment-dependent ways to assess cardio function.

Upper body strength. My current muscular development is highly disproportionate. Unlike many men who have worked out for several years, it's my lower body that's overbuilt compared to my upper body. Specifically, my arms and shoulders seem to be the weakest link in my system. They're the muscles that give out first on just about any exercise, even ones that aren't supposed to be primarily targeting them. For instance, I can't hold enough weight with my upper body to challenge my legs and rear when doing squats, so I turn to the leg press machine. I'm also interested in doing more swimming, and this will benefit greatly from improved upper body strength.

Vertical leap. This one is purely recreational. I enjoy volleyball, but I can't seem to work out the timing for my spikes. I know that I should be able to jump high enough to spike with a downward trajectory -- I can jump high enough to block spikes from men several inches taller than me -- but it's just not working. If I can add an inch or two to my vertical leap, it'll let me swing with a more downward momentum, instead of always having to aim for the baseline.

Flexibility. Our flexibility naturally decreases as we get older, and this is a large part of what leads many elderly people to be somewhat crippled. My hamstrings are ridiculously inflexible, and have been my whole life. But if I can improve them now, they might not tighten up as much as they would otherwise, and I'll have more range of motion when I'm older.

Posture. I don't have any back problems. Yet. But I know that lots of people develop them in their late 20s and 30s. If I can balance out my back and my front, so that my natural resting position is properly aligned, I will reduce the chances of developing a bad back.

Visible muscle This is two-fold: vanity and convenience. It's vanity because I do honestly want to be more attractive, and I think adding 10 or so pounds of muscle would help with that. As far as convenience -- it is legitimately difficult for a thin but not short man in a small city in the US to find clothing that fits. Finding a 36L suit turned out to be literally impossible in my city; I had to buy 1 of the 6 available 38L suits (found among the 11 different clothing stores I tried) and have it taken in. Size small shirts and sweaters inevitable sell out faster than any other size. Adding some visible muscle to my chest and shoulders would probably mean I could find clothing more easily.

Lower body fat This is both functional and vain. It's vain because if I'm going to be thin (as my genetics pretty much mandate -- I can be either generally thin, or possibly a thin guy with a gut), I'd like to at least get the consolation prize of having nice abs. It's also functional in that I know my father's metabolism gave out in his 30s, and adding fat to your belly is quite bad for you, health-wise. By paying more attention to what I eat, I will be less reliant on my freakish genetic metabolism to keep me thin, and thus keep down the risk of heart disease and diabetes and all the rest.