I’ve been coaching first-time half marathoners for more than five years now, and if there’s one thing that’s consistent about first-time athletes/exercisers, it’s that they feel they have to go big immediately. Never walked more than a mile before? Better plan on running your first half. Haven’t worked out since high school gym class? Better start with P90X.
We’ve been conditioned by weight-loss success stories and The Biggest Loser to think that we need to jump full-bore into an intense exercise regime from the get-go. We’ve been led to believe that if we aren’t puking and passing out, we’re not working hard enough, and we won’t see the results we want. Because of course we want immediate, visible proof of how hard we’ve been trying, right? Otherwise, how would anyone else know how hard we’ve been working, how much we’ve been punishing ourselves?
But the truth is, if you start out too hard and/or too fast, you’re going to get injured, you’re going to burn out, or both.
Here’s the thing: There is nothing shameful or wrong about starting slow. In fact, I recommend it. Let’s say that you want to walk or run your first half marathon. You need a good plan, you need consistency, and you need patience. If you haven’t run since your gym teacher made you do the mile for the physical fitness test in high school, you can’t expect to lace up your sneakers and complete a 5-mile run without a lot of frustration – and probably quite a bit of pain. But if you build slowly and listen to your body, you’ll cross that finish line.
It might feel overwhelming to start a workout routine, but instead of beating yourself up because you couldn’t make it all the way through level one of Jillian’s 30-Day Shred, be proud of what you were able to accomplish. So what if the person next to you is throwing 25-pound kettlebells – you’ll build up to that level eventually. Or you won’t. The worst thing you can do is compare yourself to someone else in the gym or on the race course. You are unique, and your fitness goals and abilities are unique.
And please do not let someone else’s opinion of what you should be doing color your attitude toward your workouts. You might have friends who are CrossFit addicts or run ultramarathons. But that doesn’t mean you have to do those things. I have many friends who are Ironmen, but that doesn’t diminish at all my own accomplishments as a half marathon walker. If walking around the neighborhood is a physical accomplishment for you, celebrate it. If you can only do a few reps with 2-pound hand weights, celebrate it. If you just finished the Badwater Ultramarathon or ran across the Gobi desert, celebrate that, too. Preferably with cake.
Stop comparing yourself to others (especially to others in the public eye!). Stop shaming and berating yourself for not trying hard enough, not doing enough reps, not going fast enough. Build a base, work at it, and allow yourself to rest when your body needs it. Most important of all? Be thankful every day for whatever your body is able to accomplish.
