I've never really been on for new year's resolutions. Usually because I know I can't be bothered keeping them. But 2013 is different - it has to be.
My fitness has always been a funny thing. I've never been the most athletically fit, running was never my thing. I like to walk and to hike, its one of the few physical activities I was good at. But during 2012 I became a couch potato and my fitness hit an all time low. I had no energy and (for the first time ever) I started to put on weight. Not only was I unfit but it was starting to feel the mental effects as well. I could blame a lot of external factors such as the stress of college or job hunting but I won't. I'll admit I dropped the ball big time.
I spent new years at the incredibly amazing Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland. Being out in the Alpine fresh air, trying out all kinds of new activities with some amazing new friends, I regained my lust for life. I spent new years night sleeping in an igloo and that night I decided that in 2013, something needed to be done. To quote one of my favorite films "Get busy living or get busy dying".
So I can home with a new sense of direction in life. I was going to get fit, fitter than ever before. My fitness wasn't going to be a barrier in my life anymore. So the day after I got back (Saturday 5th Jan) I downloaded the RunKeeper app for my phone and I started walking again. RunKeeper was great in that it kept telling me how far I had walked and my pace. After two days I had settled back to an average pace of 10mins/km which i decided was a steady pace to keep for the week. If i could maintain that pace for the week i'd be happy.
One week later, I've walked ever day (with the exception of Friday), I've gone for a walk. Some days this has only been a quick 30 mins but other days I've gone for over an hour. By Thursday I had reached a surprising average pace of 9 mins/km which I was very impressed with. This morning I had a nice change of scenery by going for my walk along Galway bay at 8am.
On Thursday I spent two hours at the Nevsail Indoor Climbing wall doing a beginners lesson and from here on in, I'm going to try make this a weekly activity. Thanks to Dave for his help so far.
Next week will be a challenge as I'm going to be mostly bedridden from dental surgury on Monday so hopefully I won't loose the momentum. On Saturday i'll be going hiking up keeper hill with my scout troop. Going to try get out on the hills once a week where possible.
In the next few weeks I'm going to added cycling to the mix and I'm even contemplating giving a "Couch to 5k" running plan a go (this is going to be the hardest part I think). From February I'm even going to look at my diet to see what changes can be made (although this might give my poor mother a heart attack)
I;m going to try keep a weekly record of my progress here as well as updates on facebook and twitter (hastag: #BarryGetsFit) to help keep things on track. Let's see how this works out
My fitness has always been a funny thing. I've never been the most athletically fit, running was never my thing. I like to walk and to hike, its one of the few physical activities I was good at. But during 2012 I became a couch potato and my fitness hit an all time low. I had no energy and (for the first time ever) I started to put on weight. Not only was I unfit but it was starting to feel the mental effects as well. I could blame a lot of external factors such as the stress of college or job hunting but I won't. I'll admit I dropped the ball big time.
I spent new years at the incredibly amazing Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland. Being out in the Alpine fresh air, trying out all kinds of new activities with some amazing new friends, I regained my lust for life. I spent new years night sleeping in an igloo and that night I decided that in 2013, something needed to be done. To quote one of my favorite films "Get busy living or get busy dying".
So I can home with a new sense of direction in life. I was going to get fit, fitter than ever before. My fitness wasn't going to be a barrier in my life anymore. So the day after I got back (Saturday 5th Jan) I downloaded the RunKeeper app for my phone and I started walking again. RunKeeper was great in that it kept telling me how far I had walked and my pace. After two days I had settled back to an average pace of 10mins/km which i decided was a steady pace to keep for the week. If i could maintain that pace for the week i'd be happy.
One week later, I've walked ever day (with the exception of Friday), I've gone for a walk. Some days this has only been a quick 30 mins but other days I've gone for over an hour. By Thursday I had reached a surprising average pace of 9 mins/km which I was very impressed with. This morning I had a nice change of scenery by going for my walk along Galway bay at 8am.
On Thursday I spent two hours at the Nevsail Indoor Climbing wall doing a beginners lesson and from here on in, I'm going to try make this a weekly activity. Thanks to Dave for his help so far.
Next week will be a challenge as I'm going to be mostly bedridden from dental surgury on Monday so hopefully I won't loose the momentum. On Saturday i'll be going hiking up keeper hill with my scout troop. Going to try get out on the hills once a week where possible.
In the next few weeks I'm going to added cycling to the mix and I'm even contemplating giving a "Couch to 5k" running plan a go (this is going to be the hardest part I think). From February I'm even going to look at my diet to see what changes can be made (although this might give my poor mother a heart attack)
I;m going to try keep a weekly record of my progress here as well as updates on facebook and twitter (hastag: #BarryGetsFit) to help keep things on track. Let's see how this works out
No comments:
Post a Comment