I have to be honest and say that I have never really been in great shape, but at the beginning of this year I recognized the fact that given the lockdown, I could either get big or buff, I decided on the latter. First I knew that I had to lose some weight and so I found the brilliant Pietro Triassi Montreal who was doing fitness videos. Something which Pietro spoke about was the couch to 5K approach to getting yourself up and moving and it was something which I was really interested in. I gave it a try and it worked brilliantly, and here are just some of the benefits of doing this.
Slow Building
The idea of this program is that you go for one run every 2 or 3 days, and they will mix up running and walking for the duration of the time, which starts at 20 minutes. What this helps you to do is slowly increase your ability to run through intervals, where you will run for one minute and then walk for a minute and a half. This may not sound like much but for someone who is not used to running, it can take it out of you.
Talking You Through
There are a number of apps which you can get for your phone which will talk you through the run and this is a really nice way of keeping you motivated. The voice also keeps you up to date on the amount of time that you have been walking or running for so there is no need to keep on looking at your watch to make sure that you are in time.
Progress
Another really nice feature of the app is that it is going to clearly give you the progress that you are making. After just the third day you notice that you are significantly less tired than you were on day one, or even day two. After this the following week comes and once again you have to push yourself for the first run or two, and then you get used to it once again. The fact that you can see and feel your progress is what keeps you motivated and it is ultimately why you are able to keep getting back out there.
Bite Sized
And finally it is the fact that these runs are bite sized and digestible. You don’t have to go out and run for 40 minutes straight or until you tire, all you need to do is to stick to the times, run and then walk and repeat until the time is up. This is a fab way for people who are not used to running to get started and it is something which you will find far easier than just heading out to run.
If you are looking for a way to get in shape, this is a great way to do just that.
Bryan Cumby – How Chess Makes You Think Differently
