Starting ain’t easy – and it’s all on you!
It's shameful to me, but I must confess that last night was my first work-out since Nov 2nd, 2015 – yep I'm the fitness blogging guy and I unintentionally took a few months off from working-out. I went home every day with the intentions of starting again, but I didn't.
Oh, and that image affiliated with this blog posting, yah, that's from before.
You see, on November 3rd I had eye surgery (lens implants due to cataracts forming at an early age), so I couldn't work out for two weeks. Then it was Christmas, then it was, well, nothing actually, I just didn't start.
I write about it all the time so I knew "I should" probably better than anybody, and I knew exactly what to do.I even have some of the best equipment in the world sitting in my house and I have the time.
OK, now I really sound ridiculous.
So why didn't I?
Truthfully, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is "I just didn't want to" or "I didn't prioritise it high enough."
I thought I was missing a 'start' deadline – I call it a deadline inspired inspiration.These are usually in the form of some item down the road a few months that I need to get ready for. For most people this is something like a class reunion or wedding you want to look good for, or a medical diagnosis of "get to the gym or else . . . ," an upcoming sunny trip, clothes not fitting well, etc.
So, I had even started writing blog posts about "I will start tonight" to publically shame myself into starting. I was going to give myself a public shaming deadline.But, I didn't even post them.
Oddly, I lecture that "starting a workout program at New Year's is better than "not," but why pick a random day to start, just start now." So, I picked just half of my thoughts and didn't start working-out again at New Years.
Oh, and for me, this is the end of Lent - a 40-day time to transform our lives by making a change before Easter. I had planned to start my fitness routine as part of Lent. Wow, that didn't happen either (no lightning bolts hit me - yet).
So I felt like crap physically because I hadn't done anything and mentally because I hadn't started but knew I should. I was feeling lethargic, a bit rubbery, and frankly have a small roll on my stomach for the first time in my life. My clothes are tighter in spaces I wish they weren't, and looser in spaces that should be tighter. My weight hasn't change, but my form has - not good since some muscle became larger-volume but same weight fat.
Oh and then, I regularly converse with these two – Kathleen Trotter (Canada's leading source of fitness information) and Chandell Tytlandsvik (the "I changed my life" guru) - about getting in shape and what they're writing, and I feel a bit two-faced for it. Oh, and then I even given lectures on it . . . .
I'll be 52 on April 14th and I'm still in good shape for my age, but I'm usually in great shape for any age.Sure, a person morbidly obese would love to get to my condition and I should be grateful . . . . but this is my wining, self-absorbed, poor me, self-pitying, wa-wa, blog.
So why did I start yesterday? I'm not sure. But, I did read this article by Kathleen Trotter "How to go from the couch to running 5K in eight weeks" from March 20th, 2016 Globe and Mail. Heck, I even ran on a treadmill last night as a warm-up to my usual circuit training on weights – what's up with that?I never run! So maybe it really is her fault? (Grrr).
From all of this I've learned:
- Knowing why you should work out is not enough
- Knowing what to do is not enough
- Having the equipment at home is not enough
- Having the best equipment is not enough
- Having the time is not enough
- Hearing inspirational stories is not enough
- Discussing fitness with inspirational people is not enough
- All of the above combined is not enough
Wow, that means it's only my fault? That can't be true ;-). I have no-one else or anything else to blame.
And, I've also learned that "making a change is hard."Or as I wrote, "It's Never Easy." Wow, did that one come back to haunt me.
Starting ain't easy – and it's all on you!
P.S. If you know someone who hasn't gone to the gym or worked-out or whatever for a while, do them a favour, drag them there, they'll thank you.
Category: Fitness Tips
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