The September Project: Finding your spark
Stick to... getting started.
I can’t express how appreciative I am of the response to this post (stack? Whatever the hell you call these things) from the other day. It’s one of the more personal/vulnerable things I’ve put online, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive feedback.
That said…I’ve had a bunch of people DM me saying how much the post resonated with them, but they weren’t sure how to get started with exercising and getting healthy. And while I’ll write more about eating later this week (because that’s the yin to the yang of exercising), here are a few lessons I’d love to pass along from my own health journey:
Find your spark. If you’re like me, the motivation to work out isn’t an intrinsic thing for you. “I'm too tired”, “It’s too late”, “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Sounds familiar, right? As you read in my post, my spark was hearing that I was “clinically obese”, and worrying I wouldn’t be around to watch my kids grow up. Yours might be fitting into your clothes better. Or maybe it’s feeling better about taking your shirt off at the beach. Or sleeping better. Or training for a marathon. Find something personal that drives you and will get your ass off the couch on those days where you’re coming up with every excuse possible (because those days will come).
Set realistic goals. Whether it’s a certain amount of weight loss in X amount of time… Running a 5K or half-marathon or marathon... Fitting into a pair of pants you haven’t worn for years... All of the above…. Other... We all need motivation and a goal is a great place to start. My original goal was to lose 20 pounds in three months. Once that was done, my goal turned into running a marathon. Once that was done, my goal turned into running 2000 miles in 2021 (I’m over 1425 as of today!). Once that’s done, I’m going to turn my attention to training for a half-ironman triathlon. We all have different goals. And just like finding your own motivation — you need to find your own goal(s).
Pick your lane(s). Mine? I love running. I love the fresh air, I love the solitude, I love the runner’s high (it’s really a thing). But other people hate running and have other lanes. Some people love biking. Some people love swimming. Some people love going to the gym. My buddy Mike Gallagher loves hiking. My buddy Winky loves cosplaying Dikembe Mutombo with his kid (he’s weird, I know). You don’t have to have ONE lane — but it’s good to at least find one or two that you can really develop a love for and really dig into.
Cut yourself some slack. Speaking of those days where you’re coming up with every excuse possible… While I promise you that you’ll eventually get into a pattern where you *want* to work out — I also promise you that you’ll fall into a rut once in awhile even when you’re in a good pattern. I’m objectively really good at being consistent and even I have days (or two or three) here and there where I’m like “fuuuuuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkk thissssssss.” Don’t let yourself get discouraged when you have those days — I’d be worried if you didn’t have them.
Start slow. It’s really tempting to overdo things right out of the gate, but getting into shape is a marathon (pun intended) and you want to be the tortoise — not the hare. If you haven’t worked out in a long time, ease into the 30 minutes a day with something manageable. Eventually, you’ll be able to start upping your activity level and/or minutes, but you don’t want to burn yourself out before you get there. Here are some manageable activity ideas to help you start slow:
Walking: going for a nice brisk walk is a great way to start (or finish) the day. Take your dog if you’ve got one!
Biking: have a bike you haven’t ridden for a while? Dust it off and take it for a ride. It’s just like riding…a bike.
Yoga: there are some great 101 videos where you’re basically just lying on your back. I know you can do that (here’s a good core one that’s pretty low impact).
Go to the gym: I know some of you are paying for a membership you don’t use (I’ve been there before). Go use it!
Bodyweight workouts: do a few circuits of push-ups, situps, planks, and maybe even mix in some free weights if you’ve got ‘em (here’s a good one you can repeat a few time to get to 30 minutes).
Be patient. You won’t see progress overnight. I’ve had multiple times where I started working out and dieting and then gave up two weeks later because I wasn’t seeing results. Well….I hate to tell you (and previous me) — you’re not gonna get rid of that beer gut in two weeks. Or even a month. Seeing progress (either physically or with your times/distances) takes a while, and the sooner you embrace that — the easier it is to deal with. But I promise it will come.
When I started running two years ago, I was running miles at 10 minutes and 36 seconds a mile for 3 miles
The last time I ran 3 miles (about 4 months ago), I did it at 6 minutes and 24 seconds per mile.
I put those times there not as a flex — but to show that progress does eventually come if you stick with it. Side note: progress often isn’t always a linear line (and it’s almost never an exponential curve), so get comfortable with that idea.
Entertain your ears (and brain). Working out can get monotonous, so I like to have some sort of way to stimulate my ears and/or brain. Sometimes I just want to listen to music and zone out while I’m running (here’s my playlist). Sometimes I want to learn something and listen to a good podcast (here’s one I wrote about yesterday). Sometimes I like to listen to sports talk (usually Patriots or Celtics for me, but I have friends who love fantasy podcasts). Whatever ear candy you decide on, it’s a great way to keep workouts from getting too boring.
I’ll write some more about diet and other things I’ve learned along my health journey later on, but I hope at least some of that was helpful to you as you begin or continue yours. I’d love to hear your thoughts on ANY of the above in the comment section below.
And don’t forget to sign up for The September Project if you haven’t already — it’s not too late (and it’s free)!
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Tell your boy wink I’m coming down to his park