Exercise
I try to exercise between 3 and 5 times a week. I try to separate between goals and expectations so that I can always reach for something hard to do. I think my high-level goal is to become an athlete. Meaning that I can excel in most things and am healthy and fit in all aspects.
Anaerobic Exercise
Strength
I started with strength training as a 17-year-old, but only consistently started working out when I was 20. I have been more or less working out with strength training consistently until recently.
Flexibility
I started doing flexibility training when I was quite old, but I wish that I had started a lot earlier; it is a beautiful accouterment to strength and cardio.
Aerobic Exercise
For aerobic exercise, I have mostly kept myself running. But I have not run consistently for large parts of my life (10 years out of 20 with running as a realistic activity). I think running is good as not only an exercise for the body but also for the mind. Learning to run without any focus on being fast or having podcasts and music on is something that helps you reflect on what is happening in your life and learn to reflect in a good way.
I think it is important to not be too focused on performance at all times when running, running can be a small short jog.
On motivating myself to run
When I started running after a long break, I felt like it was extremely difficult for me to focus on running, and the results from running were quite miserable. To help myself to become better, my rule for running was that every time I took on the running shoes and went out the front door, I had completed the exercise, and everything that happened after was a bonus. This mindset helped me tremendously, as I was not downed by being slow or bad or just out of shape.
When it comes to interval training or high-intensity running, I struggle immensely just running by myself. Therefore, I feel like I perform best on intervals where I can do it with other people, and preferably with people who are in a lot better shape than me to keep me focused.
Speed games
Speed games in running are akin to intervals but consist instead of running predesignated distances, maybe around a stadium or designated routes just being part of a normal run. The speed games are designed to implement interval training in a normal run in a fun and cool way. I learned this from my grandpa who has participated in 147 marathons. Neither of us runs that fast but still might be worth looking into.
Push at the sign game
When bicycling, every time a speed sign is crossed, you have a sprint. It can be either a time-based sprint or a push for the one on wheel, making a sprint before the one in the lead, thereby changing position while bicycling.
Cross the street game
One speed game I have experienced is the crossing the street game. Every time I cross the street I check my watch. I divide the second counter into two categories depending on the placement. The 10-digit category, spanning from 0 to 5, is used to designate the intensity, where 0 is normal speed and 5 is a full sprint. The category of the 0 digit, spanning from 0 to 9 describes the duration of the sprint. This is a fun game, that introduces some randomness to the run and makes it a bit more exciting.
Links
Thoughts
- Exercise is just as much for the mind as for the body.
- Running is meditation or processing of the mind.
- If you are a male fitness YouTuber => Shirtless.