For as long as I can remember, I have hated gyms. As a nature lover, they stand for all the things I don’t value. Indoor life. Stuffy. Repetitive, loud music. I have never joined a gym and the only time I visit one is when I am traveling and I visit the hotel fitness center.
I just bought a gym card. Interested to how why? Why I would change my deep seated aversion to gyms? In a nutshell, it’s because this attitude wasn’t serving me anymore.
I recently moved to the suburbs of Shanghai. My preferred exercise is swimming but there are no pools nearby and although it’s outside the city center, the roads are not that great for cycling and I am still aware to avoid pollution (which brought on an asthma attack last year). I actually have a negative mindset about running to go along with my anti-gym attitude so I rarely jog outside anyway.
I have a target of competing in a couple of triathlons this year and want to beat my personal best. My target is to finish between 2 hours 30 minutes and 2 hours 51 minutes. When I looked at my resources, I found that with no pool, a busy work schedule and not much training, I had a perfect combination of excuses. I enjoyed this for a few weeks after moving, but finally got irritated enough with this inertia and still wanting to pursue my goal of completing up to 5 triathlons this year, that I had to revisit my two beliefs: I don’t like (and am not good at) running and I don’t go to gyms.
Just two minutes from my apartment is a gym equipped with the latest treadmill and cycling equipment. There is even an outside pool which opens in the summer. I challenged my previous beliefs. I set up a time to visit the facilities and - to be honest- they have some nice kit. I decide to sign up for a membership when I realised that this was the only chance for me to pursue regular exercise - essential for a healthy triathlon finish.
In a recent trip to Beijing, I also realised the benefits of combining running with treadmills. Technology is way cool. You can measure speed, heart rate and calories burned which are all useful to gradually increasing fitness. I want to avoid exercising too much too soon.
I worked out my maximum heart rate here. Importantly, I can also find out that as a beginner ( I have been inactive for way too long to have any base fitness) I should only exert my heart to 50-60% of its maximum. So now I have a heart rate target. When I am on the treadmill I can set a 30 minute jog to take me no higher than the heart rate I punch in. This helps me exercise in a very precise way that helps me bring my body up to higher levels of fitness in a sustainable way.
By opening myself up to challenge an old belief that it not serving me anymore, I realised that I could now exercise more sustainably and scientifically. Which is good because it means I can now accurately predict my times for the run section (and the cycle section when I get onto the gym bikes).
Most of all, I now have no excuse not to exercise as the gym is a couple of minutes walk away from my door. Also, a motivator for me, is that now I have paid money for the membership, I will want to make sure I can get a good return on my investment. Already this week I have started with some gentle fast walks (I record all the measurements) and can now plan an exercise program to support my goal of competing in more triathlons. Just one week ago, I really couldn’t see what I could do. But the fog has now lifted.
What belief or habit do you have that no longer serves you? They might be holding you back from living with abundance and achieving all your goals and dreaming. If you need support by working with a coach, contact me.