I've had a body a long time. A long, long time. It seems like I've had it my whole life. But despite my extensive interaction with my body, I'm not sure if I can say that I know my body. Hell, I'm not even sure that we like each other. It groans when I ask it to do something and it hurts me when it's craving such pedestrian things like food and water. And even though I don't have the most solid of relationships with my body, that's not to say that it's not been sending me signals all along. I just wasn't open to receiving them. Gastric distress vis-a-vis my worrisome consumption of mountain and dew and pizza was my body's way of telling me that the stuff wasn't very good for me. They do call it "junk" food for a reason.
Well, fitness has a funny way of inadvertently building bridges when you least expect it. My sister and I (yes, I have a sister) have had the same problem for the longest time. For us, running is as running was. There was one speed, and that speed was fast. Needless to say, that would lead to exhaustion pretty fast. Exhaustion early on in an attempt to better the physical self is a recipe for an early towel throwing. Over-exertion is the reason why so many people fall into the periodic start and stop routine with fitness, myself including. Heck, my current efforts could just be more of that same. I sure hope not though. I hope I maintain the same level of commitment that I've shown in the last few weeks for the rest of my life.
Anyways, I digress. After some time of pushing beyond those initial exhaustion points for a little bit of time now, I'm starting to understand my body a little bit more. One important aspect that I find vital is this" pacing. It may seem a simple matter, slowing down and speeding up, but you'd be surprised how years of bodily neglect will lead instinct and muscular dexterity to degrade. It wasn't until I developed some strength in running that I started sensing cues from my body and was able to hold something akin to a dialogue. Sometimes it would tell me to ease up, that if I kept holding my pace steady that I was going to get hurt. Other times, I told my body to keep going and push through the pain, that it was going to be worth it in the end.
I'm really finding that a lot of cliche wisdom is seeming to apply to me. They say that the first two weeks of working out are the hardest. I would attest to that saying's validity. I still strive to make every workout one of the toughest workouts that I've experienced, but my body recovers faster, and it even craves physical exertion rather than revolts against it. A lot of the modern day spiritualist and homeopathic type nonsense movements express the idea to be attuned to your body. Well, despite everything else they might spout, that idea definitely holds true. I was vegetarian for a while, and it was then that I truly understood food cravings. My body wasn't getting enough protein, so my brains said "Hey buddy, you should eat a whole jar of peanut butter." Again, just more cues from my body.
When you start to have this kind of dialogue with your body, it becomes easier and easier to test and exceed your limits. My step-dad, a bodybuilder, has always told me that if you take care of your body, then your body will take care of you. So if you're first started out, or even if you haven't started exercising, take time out of your day and critically take stock of what your body is telling you. Its messages might surprise you.
Way to go Sam! I encourage all of my trainees to write a blog. It provides a forum for them to describe to themselves and others why and how they do what they do. I loved reading your blog. I was very impressed how you contrasted what you had with what you have and what you want to accomplish. Don't stop doing your blog. Your experience and writing about it will motivate hundreds to want to do better....Nice work....Doug the hulk
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