Day 15
I don’t work out because I have unlimited time, or because when I start my work out, I think to myself, “I love felling my muscles burn and ache. I don’t think many people operate that way. If you do please contact me so that you can be a guest writer and let us all know how you do it. With that opening the title of this post might confuse you.
Working out = Feeling good
I rarely feel great and happy to start a work out. In fact when I start running, and pushing myself, I feel pretty crappy for the first mile to mile and a half. At that point my legs and body go a little numb and I can no longer feel the pain like at the start. “Going Numb” as I like to call it is what I love about working out. It feels good. I will caution you, “Going Numb” doesn’t always happen while you are running. When I run I am always looking for that point but there have been time that I arrive at mile 3 and I’m still feeling muscles protest with every step. Many times at that point I get really frustrated and decide it’s time to finish my workout with something else. But I always feel the endorphins kick in afterwards that is almost a guarantee.
I will not sugar coat it for all you that are getting back into a fitness routine. You are going to be a little or a lot sore for the first week or so, but it does get better, I promise. Read on and you will find some tips to avoid extreme soreness.
For you that are returning, don’t think that you can just start where you left off, especially the longer your sabbatical has been. Start small please. If you are over ambitious you will flame out in the first week to week and a half.
Runners/Walkers/Fitness Videos
If you are a runner that hasn’t been running in a long time, you need to start with one to one and a half miles a day for the first week. It will be hard, especially if you were a distance runner. If you have never really run distance this is where you should start. Each week you can typically add a mile. Once you get to 3 to 4 miles a work out then you can start working on time. This is how I started a few years ago. I ran 1.5 miles a day for 10 days. At that time I weighed 270 lbs. That was a lot of weigh to be moving around. If you don’t feel like you can do that, it’s ok. Start with walking.
It is so important to start this way. The reason is with such a low distance and no time constraint you will avoid extreme soreness and pain that will quickly kill the strongest of wills. Between the time I was married (2003) and when I finally started getting back into shape (2009) I must have tried an exercise routine at least every year, and they all failed because I thought I was the same person that I was in high school. Once I realized my body was not the same as it once was, that was when I made real change.
Fitness videos are the same way. Stop before you look like this guy. This was me when I tried to jump right in to P90X without a little prep.
Weightlifters
Your advice is similar to the runners. Start Small. There is no shame in starting small. I say this mainly to men because we feel that somehow if we aren’t throwing weights around the room like they are t-shirts we aren’t working hard. I know this. I’m a man. But I will be honest with you lifting small weights is better than lifting no weights. You will get to where you once were if you keep at it and that is what starting small is all about, keeping you going back for more. Plus you will probably be sore enough lifting small weight anyways.
Friends I know a new year is coming up and all kinds of resolutions will be made. If you want to be like the rest of the world and make a resolution and flame out in a few days or weeks go ahead but give yourself a fighting chance and start small. You will feel better for achieving small goals that lead to big goal. Start you resolutions now and be ready to make those big goals for the New Year when it comes.
“If one has done it you can be two. If none has done it the one can be you.”
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