It Kicked My Ass…

Today was a lovely, warm day here on Long Island, and I decided to do something I hadn’t done since early September — I went for a run!

I don’t usually advocate running, but it was nice out, and I wanted to take advantage of this beautiful January day. I foam rolled, did my dynamic warmup, and headed out on a 3 mile route.

It started off well: I felt loose, I felt energized, but then, about halfway through, I completely crapped out!

At the mile-and-a-half mark is my turnaround point, and when I reached it, I was dying. I was having trouble catching my breath, and my sides were beginning to cramp. Checking my Apple Watch, I was averaging just over an 11 mph pace, so I was going at a pretty good pace up until that point.

The way back did not go as smoothly as the way to the halfway point. I had to stop a couple of times, and when I returned to my apartment, I had to sit out on the balcony for about 15 minutes to fully cool down.

Typically, my heart rate is between 125–135 when I run. Today? About 170.

Why do I tell you this? Simple…

Everyone thinks that health and fitness coaches are in impeccable shape, regardless of their fitness methodologies or the time of year. If they had to run a marathon tomorrow, they’d be able to do it with ease.

Quite frankly, because I hate using indoor cardio machines, the only times I do any form of steady state cardio is during the spring, summer and fall months, when the weather is conducive to being outdoors.

Since I hadn’t run since early September, my body was definitely NOT in the kind of steady state cardio shape that it was in a few months ago. This doesn’t mean I had been lazy with my workouts since then — Just that I hadn’t performed this type of workout in a while!

I have no doubt that if the weather continues to hold up, I’ll be back to where I was with running in no time! That being said, getting back into things isn’t easy, even for someone who’s seen as ‘fit.’

Why do I share this?

Because getting back into shape is extremely difficult at first. You’ll lose your breath easily, your muscles will ache and the battle will seem even more uphill than you already thought it was going into it.

PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY!!!

After a week or two, your body will have adapted to a lot of the movements in your workouts, as well as the workout intensity, so it will be better able to recover during and after your workouts. Don’t let temporary discomfort discourage you! In the end, it will only make you stronger.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Sincerely,

Coach Pete

pete@weightlossbypete.com

P.S. If you’re looking to get started on your health and weight loss journey, let’s chat!

Book your FREE 15 minute Weight Loss Strategy call with me by going to www.weightlossbypete.com/strategy