Curvy Fitness

by Sara Jelley, Fort Collins Personal Trainer

You can’t run a marathon by running 15 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Well, maybe someone out there can. Nobody I know.

The best thing we can teach ourselves as athletes (and yes, you are an athlete, even if you don’t feel like it yet) is to listen to our bodies. Train when your body can handle it and rest when it needs to rest. The ‘step by step’ method works not only for putting together a model airplane, but also for getting your body in shape. Your body doesn’t change easily, as evidenced by so many people in this country who change their diets but don’t lose weight because they don’t exercise, OR those other people who exercise like maniacs but don’t change their diets. Its not an easy transition. However, as long as your heart is in the right place and your plan is a smart one, things will change.

So take it easy. If you’re just starting out, don’t run for 15 minutes one day and the next day take it up to 45. Even if you’re a highly trained athlete, you can’t take large leaps in your training. Your body will freak out. Believe me. Training for an endurance race in less than 3 months will challenge anybody’s patience. However, if you do too much too soon, your risk for injury skyrockets.

Adding on 5-10 minutes to your workout every week is the most efficient way to train your muscles and your mind.  After 15 minute runs one week, your body will probably be ok with 20-25 minute runs the next week.  Then you can take it up to 25-30.  Pretty soon, in two months, you’re running for an hour! And you thought that 10k was impossible!

Today I had my clients doing pushups. Now, I hate pushups just as much as the next girl. I always do them on my knees and always feel weak. But by using the pyramid method I use for cardio and endurance in the pool and applying it to strength training we were all able to do more than we thought we could. Traditionally pyramid strength training in the weight room would mean increasing the weight every set, while decreasing the reps. But because we were doing bodyweight exercises with an endurance goal, I opted to start with lower reps and get higher. We started with 1 pushup. Then 1 minute rest.  Then 2 pushups. Then 1 minute rest. All the way up to 10. After doing the math, we realized we had just done 55 pushups! At the beginning was only “Oh man, pushups. I hate pushups. I feel so weak.” At the end, the conclusion was: “I’ve never done this many pushups in my life! I CAN do pushups!”

I could say a lot of things to myself before I work out, like “I can’t”, “I’m tired”, “I’m weak”, or “I don’t have time”.

I could tell myself I’m not worth the 30 minute workout every day.

I could tell myself its too hard and only people with a certain body type should be running marathons and doing pushups.

But I would be lying to myself. 

Listen to your body, not your mind. Because your mind says some pretty messed up stuff a lot of the time. 

Also, listen to the wise words of The Eagles. Please, please, please! Because your trainer says so. Take it Easy.