Mark from behrblather asked me, not so long ago, where do I find the motivation and go and do my runs. Although I mentioned something on my reply then, I’d like to elaborate a bit more.
Recently, I’ve been having a newfound interest in getting fitter and doing beneficial physical things, for me. It hasn’t always been easy and I definitely have a long way to go still. However, I believe that I’m in a good place at the moment with a good momentum, which I hope to keep for some time yet. I try to get motivation on things I read and check online. I managed to find some inspirational videos and blogs online close to the period of time I retrieved my running shoes and I haven’t looked back since.
Finding very good looking and fit people, who might or might not be celebrities, does nothing to me. It’s not inspiring. Jason Stratham for example shows off his 6pack on the cover of ‘Men’s Health’. That photo to me might be really nice but it remains so alien. It will not make me do more core exercises to look similar. I know it can never happen. He lives a very different life to mine and gets paid just to look like he does. I can’t compare myself to him. So, reading about his exercise regime and diet is really and utterly irrelevant.
On the other hand, there are lots of people online who share their stories which I can relate to. They are people with everyday jobs, social life, ups and downs, like every other normal human being. These (mostly) success stories are truly inspirational and help me get through tough periods.
The first one I’ll mention is BendoesLife. Ben has been writing a blog for some years now. He started off as an obese youngster, depressed and miserable. At the beginning he couldn’t run almost at all, but through the years he managed to complete marathons, a triathlon and an Ironman. Recently he got married and looks so happy. Going through his blog, you can see the before and after pictures, respect his honesty, enjoy his humour and even see some of the mistakes he made and his lows. I accept the fact that he’s trying to commercialise his blog success with ‘doeslife’ merchandise and book, but I still like what he stands for. There is optimism in what he says. I think there's also a youtube video with his story.
Through the people commenting on his blog, I read some more success stories of everyday people who managed to turn their lives around for the better. If you really look for them in tumlr, wordpress or blogger, you will be able to find them, in lots of places like here or here or here.
Looking for better ways to jog and to find local running events, I joined runnersforum.co.uk. One of the threads published there is titled: ‘Before and after weightloss pics’. That thread contains so many inspirational stories from people of various background, sex or age. Take a look at a random example:
Recently, I’ve been having a newfound interest in getting fitter and doing beneficial physical things, for me. It hasn’t always been easy and I definitely have a long way to go still. However, I believe that I’m in a good place at the moment with a good momentum, which I hope to keep for some time yet. I try to get motivation on things I read and check online. I managed to find some inspirational videos and blogs online close to the period of time I retrieved my running shoes and I haven’t looked back since.
Finding very good looking and fit people, who might or might not be celebrities, does nothing to me. It’s not inspiring. Jason Stratham for example shows off his 6pack on the cover of ‘Men’s Health’. That photo to me might be really nice but it remains so alien. It will not make me do more core exercises to look similar. I know it can never happen. He lives a very different life to mine and gets paid just to look like he does. I can’t compare myself to him. So, reading about his exercise regime and diet is really and utterly irrelevant.
On the other hand, there are lots of people online who share their stories which I can relate to. They are people with everyday jobs, social life, ups and downs, like every other normal human being. These (mostly) success stories are truly inspirational and help me get through tough periods.
The first one I’ll mention is BendoesLife. Ben has been writing a blog for some years now. He started off as an obese youngster, depressed and miserable. At the beginning he couldn’t run almost at all, but through the years he managed to complete marathons, a triathlon and an Ironman. Recently he got married and looks so happy. Going through his blog, you can see the before and after pictures, respect his honesty, enjoy his humour and even see some of the mistakes he made and his lows. I accept the fact that he’s trying to commercialise his blog success with ‘doeslife’ merchandise and book, but I still like what he stands for. There is optimism in what he says. I think there's also a youtube video with his story.
Through the people commenting on his blog, I read some more success stories of everyday people who managed to turn their lives around for the better. If you really look for them in tumlr, wordpress or blogger, you will be able to find them, in lots of places like here or here or here.
Looking for better ways to jog and to find local running events, I joined runnersforum.co.uk. One of the threads published there is titled: ‘Before and after weightloss pics’. That thread contains so many inspirational stories from people of various background, sex or age. Take a look at a random example:
andydw before
after
In the same forum, there are lots of beginners. It’s not that hard to start and there is lots of advice on offer. You can simply start by doing brisk walks and then advance to short runs and see how it goes. Lots of people also used apps like C25k, or even the new ones where zombies try to catch you.
I went for a run yesterday evening. I’ve been listening to Stephen King’s ‘The shinning’. That was one of his books I hadn’t read, but always liked to. It’s been an interesting read while running.
I think it is great and I draw inspiration from others who try to get into shape. Its not always easy to make the time but it pays dividends physically and emotionally.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I think. It's not going to be easy, but if others can do it, so can I...
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