I’ve always been sporty and loved playing football and cricket as a kid. My older brother (of 13 years) was a talented footballer and he always encouraged me to get involved in the school teams. I played rugby at a good level throughout senior school and trialled for the county when I was 15. I did lots of cross-country, cricket, tennis and athletics and regularly represented the school at these. Looking back this was the fittest I have ever been.
After school I attended university. I found the football set up a little intimidating so I opted for the intermural league. However, with little or no training between matches, and no running, I never kept the fitness levels of my school years, and my involvement became sporadic. I never weighed myself, but I reckon I must have gained a few pounds over this time!
After university I took my first job, and exercise went on the back burner. Looking back, this was the first time in my life I wasn’t surrounded by like-minded people….I had lost those contacts and my fitness-levels took a serious dive. Opportunity came around again when I took up a new job with British Airways in 1997, and for a brief time my exercise really picked up pace. There were a lot of new graduate recruits and lots of opportunities for Sunday league football and cricket. I got involved in all of it! Then from 2005 to 2012(ish) I didn’t do a great deal apart from the occasional guilt-tripped run!
It took some time for me to realise I had let myself go and in 2012 I started doing HIIT-training. I gradually built this up, lost 2 stone in weight and started to feel great again. I did this twice a week, and then (at my request) three times a week, in the morning before work. The sessions were excellent and got me back to a good level of fitness. This gave me confidence to try other things out, like Parkrun and cycling. The incentive of keeping my son active, together with the camaraderie, and sense of community spirit really worked for me. I’ve never been a ‘happy’ runner but I think the fact that there was such a broad spectrum of abilities took away any pressure and I just enjoyed the event, only occasionally pushing myself to get PB!
I’ve managed to stay active throughout COVID and the lockdowns with a mix of early morning cycling and running. I do this with a friend as this helps my motivation. We’ve been running regularly now since November and it’s been an eye-opener. In the past, I’ve never felt a natural runner, but always understood how irreplaceable it was for fitness. I always felt the pressure with running to constantly ‘progress’ in some way to show that I was getting fitter. I think subconsciously I found this pressure to be a disincentive!
With my recent routine, I have adopted the approach of ‘slow and regular’ with absolutely no pressure to race or get times down. I’m finding the slow, regular runs have really built up my stamina and fitness levels massively. I now always look forward to getting out!
What works for me?
Building exercise slow and steady.
Not pressurising myself to get faster/better.
Enjoy it. Make friendships and surrounding myself with like minded people.
Vary what you do once you get going.
Tips to get going
Exercise takes time, you’ll ache, so take it slowly.
Make it a routine, make friendships, try things out.
Benefits of exercising
Again I have found the social aspect to be a very motivating factor. Familiar faces, regular slots and all that!
Great for mental health.