Diary of a former fitness fake

2 mins to read

Here’s how I turned my New Years’ Resolution from pie in the sky to part of my everyday picture. This is the year I got fit and fired up my brain (yes, I know it’s only February!).

Energy & exercise

Here’s how I turned my New Years’ Resolution from pie in the sky to part of my everyday picture. This is the year I got fit and fired up my brain (yes, I know it’s only February!).

I’ve always been pretty healthy: I eat nutritious food, cook healthy meals and have great stress relief valves—a wonderful set of friends and a park near my house that fills with cockatoos each sunset. I often go there to sit quietly with my thoughts. Um, such as: “Gosh I’d like own a yacht,” and, “I really should exercise more.” (My thoughts are much more noble than that, but you get the idea).

The thing is, I’m a health writer, so people expect me to bolt like Usain Bolt and lift weights like Hulk Hogan. Well, almost. They expect me to be fit, is all.

I thought short courses might have been the answer. I’ve tried every ‘beginner’s guide to’ that you can imagine—beginner’s guide to salsa, beginner’s guide to karate (watch out, I’m a white belt), and most recently, beginner’s guide to latino aerobics.

None of it stuck. So I tried another tactic. Swimming. It was peaceful and gave me a great workout, but it was also a hassle. The cap, the goggles, the towel, the locker. Again, my enthusiasm faded like the features on Kenny Rogers’ real face (don’t believe me? Google him).

Who would have thought a tiny, funny book would finally make things click. Perhaps it’s that sometimes, someone can say something in a way that simply penetrates. Sure, you may know the virtue in their message already, but somehow, you just can’t take it on board and make genuine change.

For me, the words came from Aussie blogger and writer called Sam de Brito (a very witty, bright guy—I recommend his book about male Australian culture and growing up in Bondi, The Lost Boys). In his latest book of life advice, dedicated to his unborn kids no less, he pens the following rule:

“Thirty minutes of cardio a day is the best thing you can do for your body, end of story. This is the one habit you should never break. It’ll make you happier than almost everything else you do.”

If beer-swilling Sam can do it, so could I. So I made the change. I stopped treating my gym membership like an expensive invisible friend, and committed to hitting the cardio machines every day that I could, for 30-minutes at a time.

During the first week I went five times. Bam! The second: two times. Not so fly. The third, fourth and fifth? I’ve hit a comfortable average of four times a week (mostly two days on, one day off), and I’m pleased to say it’s working like a treat.

I have to admit that my gym’s army of fitness fanatics were slightly off-putting. There’s the young blonde with a plat that runs down her back like Razpunzel’s, who pounds the treadmill like she’s running for her life. Then there’s the slightly crazy older man who starts up a tsunami of chat if you happen to select the piece of exercise equipment next to his.

But all the great things outweigh the obstacles, the most obvious being the way I feel: stronger, fitter, leaner, and just…. better! And it may sound odd (science would back me up though) but I feel brainier, too. My thinking is sharper and clearer and I’m not slipping into energy potholes at 3pm (besides, I was sick of being caught napping under my desk. Joke!... But I did think about it).

Sam was right: quick sessions of cardio are the best thing you can do for your body, but also for your grey matter. Some days going to the gym is the last thing I feel like. But I just make myself go. It’s no longer an optional extra.

Are you getting fit, too? If so, share your stories on how you’re tracking. Maybe your words will ring true for someone else reading this blog!