Träning / Mål
Why do we actually exercise?
I would like to turn it around and ask why so few of us actually exercise?
I come across a variety of opinions and ideas about exercise in my everyday life. When I cycle 8 miles to and from work, when I run during the children's own training or just in general when I meet people and training comes up. However, there are a couple of common points I always hear.
1. Many people talk about how they would like to train but are unable to because of too little time or something else.
2. It´s always nice to talk about how much you have done as a young person and all the old merits you have. Gosh, how many world champions we have in the hooks.
3. It sticks out a little in people's eyes that you exercise. A bit like when you pulled up a vegan lunch box in the lunch room at work 20 years ago.
Many runs have been spent thinking about why it is like this and that you so often have to listen to the same nagging about too little time and lack of performance and bad conscience because you sat on the sofa all evening after work because you were too tired.
After all, time is about priorities and performance about the goals you set, and of course all of this can be solved if you want to.
There is only one reason why training does not happen and that is one's own will.
Since I have children myself, I relate a lot to what I see and experience in how children develop and what attitude they get towards reaching goals in life. How are we going to get the children to opt out of screens and TV and move instead?
Many of these people you come across who want to talk about exercise have children of their own and are happy to be involved in children's sports themselves. If you have played football as a child, it is clear that the children should play football. It´s just how it should be.
I have a bit of trouble with that line of reasoning.
As with everything else, sports and training have to do with attitude. Sure, it's great to be tall when playing basketball, but if you're tall and have the wrong attitude, it won't be fun anyway.
If you get the wrong attitude to physical activity from the start, it will probably stay with you for life.
Can't we try to think a little about how we treat people around us and what demands we place on our surroundings. Reverse the reasoning and ask yourself the question "what would keep you going".
It feels sad that so many seem to focus on the short-term in sports instead of building in long-term. Although of course it is more difficult to create a genuine joy in movement instead of chasing results and the goal of constantly winning and being the best. Which, after all, is a pretty bad motivation if you want to maintain a lifelong interest. Of course, not all the winners out there agree with this, but there are vanishingly few of these who actually still live an active life and it is often in that person that you find the local world champion. Who spends the evening after work on the couch.
A simple way to inspire is to be responsive, considerate and supportive. Be encouraging to your fellow human beings and be positive. Lead others by being a good example. If it didn't work for you last time, try something new. It's never too late to start moving again and with physical activity comes so much good! We humans are made to move and everything in the body works so much better with a little movement. We don't have to be world champions and we don't always have to chase results.
Be happy with yourself and don't give up!
Why do I exercise?
A short and simple answer to that question is that I have great fun doing it. Then comes lots of positive health aspects and not to mention all the experiences I get to be a part of. But the central thing has always been that I have a positive image of sports and training. It is fun!
"As a child I found the joy and all the benefits of moving and it still remains."
Finding this joy was far from easy and it required a lot of support from people close to me. I realized quite early in life that team sports were not my thing as the focus on performance is a central part at quite early ages. Being benched for not placing as a 12-year-old takes the joy out of anyone and can potentially ruin a lifelong interest. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to go my own way and find my own identity in sports. Thanks to supportive parents where I was given the opportunity to take it at my own pace and where, in a way, I was helped to open my eyes to other things when the motivation from team sports disappeared.
Rehab and virtual world of zwift.
Getting started early after surgery was important to me. I split my breaks at work and got 4 workouts a day. Core stability, back exercises and Yoga were on the schedule. I needed gentle options and since the nerve pathways run through the vertebrae, I needed forms of exercise that didn't compress the back too much. The solution was to run on a treadmill. I don't want to think about how many hours I spent on the treadmill over the years and how many series and movies I plowed through to pass the time. I've probably seen more movies on the run than sitting on the couch.
I was eventually introduced to the virtual world of Zwift.
Zwift is primarily developed for cycling, but it is also possible to run along the virtual roads together with others. I quickly found new like-minded friends there and I am now a virtual running coach. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays you can actually log in and run with me if you want. Everything is free and the only thing you need is a TV, computer or iPad - a treadmill and a sensor that records your speed.
The running community ZLDR has meant an incredible amount to me during my rehab and journey back and I have met many wonderful new friends there from all over the world. Like-minded people with the same attitude to sports as myself. It should be fun!
If you want help and tips to get started with this, please get in touch!
Goals and dreams.
I don't really have a stated goal with my training other than to get as far as possible and to stay healthy. The dream is to take me 100 km during a race. I'm not a sprinter, but I walk around on pure persistence. Long runs, marathons and ultras are for me a journey in the emotional as much as the physical. You go through lots of phases over long runs and you get to know yourself in a new way. You learn to push your limits and to adapt and develop new strategies. To adapt to the condition. Exactly what I like. Challenge, develop and reach new goals.
And to inspire of course!
If you want to follow my training add me on Strava.
