In this blog post, nothing new will be disclosed and you might have heard it all before. However, I know from experience that people are not always receptive and what they read or hear might not be fully understood at a given moment. My aim is to motivate and to encourage; to share my story and show that I’ve had difficulties as well but that obstacles can be defeated.

How to start

Everyone knows that physical exercise is good for your health. A lot of people feel that they should exercise and then most often, they don’t. How come? When you know that something is good for your health and that it might let you live longer and prevent illnesses and injuries, why do people not do it?

Are humans lazy by nature?

I don’t believe that is necessarily true. The main reason, I think, why people don’t exercise is because they feel they must. They associate it with something that is expected of them, a demand, and not something that they can do because it’s fun.

Before I became a runner, I disliked working out. I tried different sports and I soon found out that team sports was not for me. Neither was cycling or aerobics (too much coordination). The main reason I started to run was not because I wanted to or even liked it. No, I was afraid to gain weight. I lived in Paris and I also wanted to enjoy all the delicacies of French food and bakery. So I had to do something!

One of the most important things when you start doing something new is: consistency. Give a new sport at least six to eight weeks. It takes that long to change a habit (is what I have heard but also what I have experienced).

So, what motivated me? Every time I didn’t feel like running, I reminded myself how good I would feel afterwards. After a while, I discovered that I even felt good during my runs.

My first important message: find a sport that you like. I am not promoting running for everyone; I think it’s essential to find your sport.

If you find out that it is running but you still have difficulties with the motivation then a good idea is to register for a race. It could be 5k to start with. If cycling is your sport, then there are races too. If team sports appeal to you, then join a club.

You are unique

We all have different physical prerequisites which means that we all have different strong and weak parts; some have weaker hamstrings (me), some have a sensitive back etc.

And don’t compare yourself to others!

No one gets any younger. What you can do at 25 demands more effort and more recovery when you are 45 and 65 etc. (which I have learned the hard way).

But remember this: you are never too old to exercise!

Key words:

• Consistency: make a plan, a schedule. In the beginning it may be simple just as “2 times a week I will do some kind of exercise”, later you can make more specific goals like “I will run 5 k 3 times a week”, or “run twice a week, gym once a week”.
• Motivation: what motivates you? Why do you want to exercise?
• Perseverance: remind yourself of the fun, the good results and the reason why this is good for you. Forget all about “musts”.
• Discipline: demands practice so don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t succeed at first.
• Reward: give yourself a reward after a certain amount of time or after each session. It can be new clothes, a visit to the theater, a spa-treatment, etc. Be good to yourself!

Why go to the gym

The best insurance you can give yourself and your body is to strengthen your muscles. This is the absolute truth for most people! If you are dedicated and you have a habit of working out, maybe you don’t need to go to the gym. But exercising at home or outdoors by yourself demands discipline. Therefore, a gym will help you get started.

When I first realized that I had to strengthen my muscles, I had a hard time going to the gym. However, for me when I pay for something, I want to take advantage of what I pay for. I know a lot of people who pay for a gym card and then they use it once or twice. For me, that’s a waste of money!

At first, I couldn’t motivate myself to do exercises on those big machines in the gym so I tried Body Pump (Les Mills). When you join a class, you follow the trainer, you can’t cheat, and it is much easier to find motivation. And the group gives your energy!

I did Body Pump for many years but for me, after a while it wasn’t enough. In order to develop end get stronger, it is crucial to add (heavy) weight lifting. That’s the truth and there are no shortcuts.

The body is smart. If you do the same exercises, your body will learn and “cheat” and after a while, they stop developing (you might maintain your strength but not develop). But if you change exercise – it can be for the same group of muscles – then your body will wonder – what is going on – and you will train different muscle fibers. And the more muscles fibers you train, the stronger you will get.

Nevertheless, the important thing is to do something.

“The best physical training is the one that you do” (a quote, but I don’t know who said it).

My story

As I wrote earlier, I started running because I was afraid to gain weight. However, when I found out, that running was my sport, I became addictive to the adrenalin and the joy I felt both during and after my sessions. But this did not happen from one day to the other.

There was a period of time in Paris when I felt depressed and unsatisfied with myself. By then, I’d bought a gym card (special price for students) and since I hate to waste money, I forced myself to the gym. But I didn’t do it because other people expected it of me! I did it because I knew that a gym session would make me feel better!

At that time I was a smoker. It’s hard to imagine today but back in 1998, I was walking to the gym with a cigarette in my mouth! Also, I had gained a few pounds which just made me feel even worse.

I had a choice: continue smoking and eating and then get fat and unhealthy. OR I could go to the gym, feel better, and reduce the cigarettes and eat with a good conscience. I discovered that when I treated my body with physical exercise, it didn’t need cigarettes and junk food anymore. I quit smoking in 1998 even though I continued as a “party smoker” until 2005. Since then, I’ve never had the need and today, I wouldn’t dream of smoking at all!

The reason for me doing sports was no longer to lose weight; I didn’t think of the weight issue anymore. I learned to love treating my body with physical exercise and the fact that I kept a normal weight was just a benefit that came along.

Why most runners should do weight lifting

If you run 30-40 k per week and you don’t have any aims of developing your endurance or your race times, then you might do without extra muscle training. But if you increase or want to increase your distances and your speed, then most people have weak spots, weaker muscles that need extra strength. My “Achilles’ heel” is my hamstrings. Therefore, since I want to run at least 60-70 k per week I need to do additional exercises for hamstrings.

Once, I read an article in a Swedish magazine where an athlete runner said this:

“I want to award my body with weight lifting so that it will have the strength to run”.

This sentence changed my life. Whenever I don’t feel like going to the gym, I remind myself of the benefits and the fact that I will become a better runner.

I am rewarding my body by keeping my muscles in shape and that is also why I am convinced that this is the best insurance you can give your body.

Patience and perserverance

It took me more than six to eight weeks to like the gym. One reason is that I wasn’t consistent. I had the tendency only to go to the gym if I was injured or felt a soreness but when I could run without problems, I only ran. This, I have paid for many times during the years. I’ve had injuries many times. Looking back, I think it was because I was too eager to run and increase my training. Also, I ignored signals from my body saying that I should slow down.

Most of the time, I look forward to my planned gym sessions. Once at the gym in my outfit, I feel motivated. It’s like now that I am here, I might as well lift some weights. However, now and then I have no inspiration and sometimes I skip a session but most often, I go to the gym anyway and do at least some exercises. I often exercise at home which is very convenient but that only works for me during periods of time when I don’t need the extra push. When I feel I lack discipline, I join a class (e.g. Body Pump, yoga, Pilates etc.).

Take control of your body!

Next blog post will be about running and the importance of Being Present. I am reading Eckart Tolle’s The Power of Now which is giving me many new insights and perspectives. As I said in the beginning of this blog post – you are not always receptive when you hear some things but when you hear or read it in other words, then it might sink in…

So now, I am trying to take control of my thoughts!

Thanks for reading my blog, feel free to comment! I would be glad to hear your story!