The return to real fitness.

What is real fitness? A lot of people go all out at the gym only to binge on bad food after. A lot of good intent goes into healthy routines which fall away after a few weeks. I know because I have been through lots of them. What is it that will get you to the level you want to be at and keep it?

In 1996 while serving in the US Marine Corps, my 5k run time hovered around 18 min and I ran a Marathon that year. Then an injury to my ankle and leg which left me with 12 screws two pins and 8 inches of steel plate, took me out of running for the next 29 years. Any attempt to return to running was met with chronic pain but mostly it was the wrong approach to recovery that led to giving up. I had maintained an on and off gym routine which actually gave me a false sense of fitness. What do I mean by that? It's that feeling of hard work and sweat that makes you think, " ah, I'm doing good, I strained and sweated so I must be getting fit". Wrong. Fitness is a wholistic condition. A condition that needs constant attention to reach that goal and stay at that level. Yes you can ease off or coast a bit when you reach a desired level but at that point you should have gone through a change in habits and lifestyle. Where that starts is being honest with yourself about what you are doing that does not contribute to your health and what you are not doing that would build fitness.

Motivation gets you into the gym or out for some exercise but it is discipline that keeps you going. Getting out of bed early to run or work out on cold dark mornings or facing heat and humidity of hot climates. Discipline is what keeps you in the fight and that is what it is! 'A fight'. It is a mental fight to push your self out the door and a physical fight to constantly push your limitations. Knowing and understanding your limitations and where to push versus back off is key the building your health and strength with out injuring yourself. I was mountain biking regularly which may have been good exercise but I was over weight, was not good with my diet and had boarder line high blood pressure. Classic example of telling my self I must be fit because I ride my mountain bike when in actual fact I was just over stressing my body which eventually would break down. Although not as bad a the fat guy you see on a road bike in matching spandex i was probably setting myself up for a major health issue where people react with the "but he was so fit! out on the bike all the time". Which gets me to the point of my blog. Health and fitness is all round. It's exercise in the right way, it's healthy weight loss and a clean diet, minimize stress. Get enough rest. So here is my story.

After taking a contract at the other side of the world and my family back home I knew I needed to occupy my time outside of work hours. I knew it was important to find healthy habits. As I wrote down some goals one of which was 'get back to running 5k' I struggled to quieten the voice in my head saying 'Yeah right'. First step was commit to getting up early. I got this routine off to a start by going to bed so early that waking at 6am felt like a lie in. By the way, finding a good book is key to going to bed early.

The 5k plan started with walking on the beach every morning, now getting up was easy as it's a sunny climate and I had no other things to take care of first thing in the morning. Not really expecting to be able to run I just walked bare foot in soft sand. I started with 1k down the beach and then back tracked. So 2ks a day became the routine. The discipline to get up every day and get out was forming. It didn't feel so hard as I was in a new environment and was enjoying this routine. After 2 weeks I noticed I was getting more mobility back into my long time restriction motion ankle so I decided to see if jogging back 1k would cause the usual pain or not. I think a combination of warm sand and the stretching motion really helped rehabilitate the ankle joint. A month in I increased the distance to 2k, 1k walking and 1 in a jog to 2ks each way. After a month I was easily jogging the 2k back and my ankle was feeling better than it had in years. Usually faced with sharp pains and a limp after a run this was not happening. I focused on running smooth and not favoring the injured leg. Another problem I faced before was my left leg (the good one) would be strained as I subconsciously leaned more weight on that side. 29 years of this had also left me with an atrophied right calf mussel. Now if I was going to run on a regular basis I had to ensure I was not injuring myself further which includes my lower back from an uneven gate and the strength differences between each leg. My right leg, one one with retained hardware also has developed bone spurs on the fibula at the ankle joint and the scar tissue have reduce the joint motion by about 70%. Getting this work again was going to be a process. So, focusing on a good smooth stride was critical and not just pounding the ground with each step. Week by week the 2ks became easier and I wasn't in pain after the run but it was a must to walk that first 2ks the get the joint warmed up and getting the blood to flow. Towards the end of my second month and feeling petty good I decided to try jog the first 2k then walk to the trail on the other side of the dunes and jog back. It went well. I then scaled back the daily routine to every other day to give the body a rest. Learning to listen to your body and understand between push through and just over doing is key for longevity. For the discipline of keeping the routine I still got up early and did some light body weight exercise at home. So each day was started at the same time. This built discipline and routine. They are not the same. Your discipline gets you out of the bed to face the routine, your emotions keep you from getting up. Don't let that voice inside tell you you don't feel like getting up. Always focus on how good it feels after you have achieved your exercise goals. This is where you can use your own mind against it's self. when your struggling to get up and get going, tell yourself it's ok I'll go easy today. Maybe a shorter slower run maybe less reps in the gym but know it feels good to do it. Then once engaged in your activity push through as based on how the body feels. As you age it's easy to injure yourself when exercising. Only push the limit based on the bodies feed back. It's there, you get a feel for what is a limit to be crossed so you can build on your level and when your just breaking your body down.

Discipline vs motivation.

You might have created a disciplined routine but eventually the why will kick in. The why am I doing this is the minds last trick to pull you back, to over ride the discipline you built up and rigorous routine that is keeping you on your goals. The 'why' eats motivation. It is at this point you lean on the combination of you discipline and a set of pre recorded answers in your head that should be rehearsed often. You need to have decided before you began this routine what you were trying to achieve. What weight, what distance, what you want your body to look like what sports do you want to keep doing as you age. The answers are there but you have to have it engrained in your thoughts as the why shows up to keep you in bed. Four months into my routine motivation was slipping. It should have been easy now? I should be bouncing out of bed and going. I wasn't. It was now feeling a bit harder to keep going. Lots of days I played the mind trick " I'll just walk it today" and slowly I would bring in a jog and as the body warmed up and the sweat started, only then did I feel relief that I got up and went for it. At that moment when you congratulate yourself for going out and following the routine, etch that in your mind so the next time 'why' tries to stop you, bring this feeling up. The one where you have that moment of "I'm so glad I did this". I am 9 months in to my exercise routine. Monday 6K run, Tuesday 2 or 3 hundred meter swim, Wednesday 8k run, Thursday swim, Friday 10k run. Everyday starts with tai chi movements to warm up the body. I have found this much better than stretching. Everyone has routines that suit them but I found the Tai Chi stuff really feels like you are loosening up the body where I found stretching was straining the muscles. The next step is walking .5 to 1k depending on how you feel. I found this is a good way to break into a jog. On the days where motivation is not there just focus on getting 3 to 4 k done and if it feels good at 3k or so just keep on. Most of the time 5k ends up my minimum with the average at 7k. Push through unless pain is building. Some pain can be there but if it feels like you body is suffering at an increasing rate then stop and walk. The other measure I found was how you feel after. if you are dying after exercise add more time between exercise days for recovery. Then take note of the time it takes get feel normal again. Remember when you are older you could be hurting yourself. Push your fitness according to your body feed back. If lingering pain doesn't seem to go away it's time to visit a professional. A physio for the joints and if you feel it's you cardiovascular that's struggling get checked at the doctor.

Eight months in and 5k is easy, but there are days the motivation has dropped off. A lazy streak can edge in easily, this is where pure discipline kicks in. It's the discipline that will have you standing beside your bed while your comfort emotions are trying keep you under the covers. It's ok to lose a bit of motivation and on these days just get up and go through the motions get out do a few ks.

Over all, pushing your self as you age requires a good feed back loop. Always focus on how your body is responding to what your doing, how it feels after and how long does it take for any aches or pain to reside. Combine this with eating clean food that also makes you feel good, so no bloating or feelings of fatigue after eating. Diet is a whole other subject I will post constantly on and share good information that I find and I will post links to good suppliers of organic food and supplements.

Quick Recap.

To effectively push yourself as you age, it's crucial to maintain a good feedback loop by paying attention to how your body responds to activities and how long it takes for any discomfort to subside. Pair this with a clean diet that leaves you feeling energized, avoiding bloating or fatigue. I will regularly share insights and links to quality organic food and supplement suppliers.