In March 2005, I wouldn't have known a one-legged calf raise if it bit me in the arse. And as for High Intensity Interval Training? You're speaking a foreign language.
Then where did I start with exercise? Pretty much the same place as most of you - walking. It's 2km around our block and I used to walk that six days a week. It has a decent sized hill, and a couple of times I had black spots in front of my eyes when I got to the top. Interestingly enough, in those early days I would walk no matter what the weather. Now I tend to wimp out if it even looks like rain.
After about a month I bought a WW workout video - the one with the fit-strip. At first, just the warm-up felt like too much for me. But it was great to make it to the end of the workout and to feel the improvement over the next few weeks.
I kept going like this for a couple of months - making the walks longer, adding a kick-boxing workout video into the mix, making sure I got lots of incidental exercise.
And then in late July 2005 I registered for a triathlon. This was a really big step for me - I don't think I'd ridden a bike since I was a pre-teen, and the thought of swimming 300m terrified me. But I had over six months to prepare and I needed a REALLY BIG GOAL at that stage.
So the next month I joined a gym. Making myself walk in the door was incredibly hard, but the rest of it was actually quite easy. I still weighed well over 100kg at that stage and was really worried I'd get lots of those what the hell are YOU doing here looks. The support I got from my consultant (just a young guy of 23) was fantastic and the other gym-goers were too busy getting on with their own stuff to bother with judging me!
The exercise thing has just grown and grown from there. I love to try new things and one of my proudest achievements is that triathlon in February. Fitness and weight-loss do go together, but exercise is no longer just a means to an end for me.
Can I summarise my experience with exercise? Well, here goes...
- You have to start somewhere.
- You don't need elaborate plans and schedules (even though we all know I'm now addicted to those). Just get out and do something.
- Any exercise is better than none, but you should push yourself to do just a bit more than you think you can.
- What's the best form of exercise for losing weight? Whatever you enjoy, because that will help you keep doing it.
- People don't laugh at the fat lady exercising. Most of them are too wrapped up in their own lives to even notice you. The others are probably thinking good on you for giving it a go. And if they think they have some right to judge you - who cares? Your opinion of yourself is much more important than their opinion of you.
- Notice and celebrate your progress. Can you now walk up two flights of stairs without puffing? Did your workout pants fall off? Do you actually look forward to your workout? That's great!
- Remember that rest and recovery are important too - and treat any injuries with respect. (Okay, you can all tell me to practice what I preach for that one!)
Just flicking back through my blog to find some of these links has reminded me about how intense my focus used to be. I think I need to work on recapturing that.
12 comments:
Thanks for this post Sue - thanks for showing me the light at the end of the tunnel, and reminding me that progress is progress and it all adds up!
This was really helpful to know how you built your exercise up.
I can never tell if I am doing enough or the right thing etc but this post has given me a great idea (WW DVD with strip I have been looking at for a couple of weeks) and trying something new is always a good thing as you don't want to get bored and complacent.......BIG THANKS!
I think a lot of people will find great inspiration in this post. Thanks for posting Sue.
Thanks for the post Sue, I think its important for everyone to realise that there are ways and means to exercise to fit in with all lifestyles.
Its also inspiring to see that you are keeping up with some exercise even with your knee problems. I wish I had been so dedicated when I first hurt my knee a year ago, I would be in a much better position today.
Thanks for the link to last years Xmas prep post too, I definitely need to get my plan in place so that I make it through the festivities unscathed!
Thanks for posting this Sue because I find it really interesting how people have come to find what they love doing in terms of exercising. Also their fears and their feats in giving different things a go. Brilliant post!
Loved reading that Sue - very inspiring and I'm sure that post will help many others out there! The summary that you wrote summed up such a lot. I was another one who initially thought people would laugh at me, instead I found support.
Great how you can show others how far you've come and help them realise that they can do it as well!
Well said. It's definitely worth celebrating the achievements and finding people who'll celebrate with you.
omg, we share the same grass roots ... just goes to show a little, regularly, goes a long way! Like you I started off walking, until my fitness and confidence was at a level to really get into some adventure ... hold us back now eh? bloody ell we're fantastic ;)
Great post! It really helps to remember all those milestones. And I like Summary Point #4. It's easy to get bogged down in figuring out what to do - the answer is "anything."
Great post Sue, bring on the next one....
What a fabulous post Sue! When you were describing yourself at the beginning of the journey, walking around the block and doing the WW Fitstrip dvd, that's what I started with too! And I remember what an effort it was!
And look at us now - we're triathlon girls!!!
I'm getting scared about November 19 to be honest, but I keep thinking "if Sue did it, I can do it too..."
You're my inspiration.
xoxoxox
Ditto, ditto, ditto! I started the same way, find myself feeling the same way -- and yea... I need to recover some of my "fresh start enthusiasm" too! Great post Sue!
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