Thursday 3 January 2013

My walk of shame


This post is all about my fitness level. I hope it’s not just a New Year’s Resolution that will be forgotten next month. But I am planning to make some decision which I hope to keep. So, bear with me on that and/or help me if possible.

Generally, I’ve been good and managed to maintain a decent weekly number of visits to my gym during the last months. Apart from the time when I was away on holidays, I don’t think I’ve skipped gym for a whole week without going at least once or twice. The personal trainer I have is also good at kicking my ass almost every week. Sometimes of course is harder than others, but I assume that’s to be expected.

Last week was exceptionally nice. The gym was almost empty. Once, there were 4 people overall in the whole area, including me. I like it like that, when it’s empty and mostly quiet. I can enjoy working out without distractions. I even took a photo of the empty locker rooms. Before you ask, no, it’s not something I’ve done before and no, I don’t plan on making a habit out of it. :-)



I know that the state of the empty gym will not last. The hordes of the January new members on their own New Year’s Resolutions will be arriving soon. It’s unavoidable. We just have to be patient and wait for it to pass:



The reason however of the title of my post is my lack of running and doing long sessions of cardio exercise. I know how important running is to maintain my weight and waist line in a fairly good condition. I’ve mentioned my weight increase over the last weeks, that is not making me very happy and it’s not just the holiday food. I’ve gotten heavier and I need to do something about it.


I’m not a great fan of indoor treadmill running in the gym. I find it a bit tedious. I so much prefer running outdoors and I used to do it so often. When I first met JJ I was fitter, lighter and I could do long runs without any problem, like that first half marathon I did in Bath back then. I used to log all my outdoor runs and from what you can see things haven’t been going that well recently:

 2009

 2010

 2011

2012

Even if I might have missed and not logged a couple of runs over these last years, I don’t think it’s not obvious the decline of mileage over the months. Even during the good months, I didn't run that much, but still combined with gym, it was OK. I could come up with many reasons I haven’t been running, like heavy work schedule, my personal life or the bad weather but it’s no right. They’re only silly unforgivable excuses. It’s a personal defeat I will not easily accept, at least not without a fight.


So, even if these graphs are so embarrassing, I’m presenting them to you. I need you as witnesses that I plan on getting out again writing miles. According to my blog the last time I posted anything tagged in the ‘running’ category was October 2011! I hope this will change (and soon). Can you nag me in the near future if I don’t mention anything relevant at some time soon?



12 comments:

  1. I used to go to a gym in Pangrati in Athens. It was small and friendly and in the morning it was quiet. Then it closed. Every other gym was bloody heaving with people and had music so loud it could rattle your teeth loose. I'm a deeply introverted and misanthropic person, and such places are torture for me - so I never went again. I've let myself go... And after YEARS of worry about my body, never feeling good enough, I now find it increasingly difficult to care. No point kidding myself I'm going to join the only gym here in Stamford and get off the train from Leicester after a days teaching to go and put up with all that straights' banter and bonhommie, πα πα πα πα πα. Είμαι ξαπλωμένος στο κρεββάτι μ'ενα ποτήρι κρασί στο χέρι και γίνεται κάρρυ στο φούρνο, so fuck jogging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol... You're so supportive!
      I understand where you're coming from though. Some gyms are not very nice. There are however ways of keeping healthy and fit. Running is one of them. You can still stay a very nice misanthropic, but still run and exercise. :-)

      Delete
  2. I'm laying on the bed with a glass of wine in my hand and a curry cooking in the oven...?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You too with curry in the oven and a glass of wine? That's exactly what Vilges Suola said!

      Delete
  3. Happy to cheer you on and encourage you to stick to your routine. You do the same for me, okay? On the plus side if the gym is as nice as the locker room appears - at least it looks like a nice place to go for that run. Hopefully there will be some good eye candy to motivate you.

    BosGuy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that! At least BosGuy, you're being supportive. :-)

      Delete
  4. A resolution to improve fitness is never a waste. More power to you! And look at the crowded gym this way... more eye candy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cb I'll see what I can do about the eye candy...

      Delete
  5. The title made me sit up a bit....
    Do not waste time doing any exercise you don't like doing.
    Do some reistance training to prevent muscle loss.
    On a 10 part scale, exercise is only '3'; the other '7' is calories viz. it is far more important to deal with the calories than trying to burn things off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. It's simply mathematics. Calories going in and calories are burnt out! I enjoy running though and it does help in burning calories. :-)

      Delete
  6. How you holding up Nik? I went to the gym yesterday. Let's see if I sneak in a workout today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been running already twice this week! My legs do hurt a bit, but I've planned a rest day or two and then I'll be back outside. Thanks for asking!! :-)

      Delete