I'm not fat, just unfit.

[Hedges]

I'm 25, have a good job, my own flat, and generally have a pretty decently stable life except when it comes to fitness. There was once a time when fitness level was (and I find it hard to believe myself now) beyond excellent, I could run all day, I could do 342 (Personal Best) situps, countless pressups, I was quite frankly, in amazing shape. That was 10 years ago, and my fitness has crashed since leaving school despite my few attempts to pull it back.

I've been telling myself for the past year or so that I'd start running again but aside from 1 or 2 rare occaisions, which have always been awful, it hasn't happened. There's always some seemingly legitimate reason but then again, I may just be lazy.

So here I am, ready to give it another shot and I'm hoping having a solid community behind me will help this time. I'll let y'all know how dreadful the first run is!

/Hedges

[aliboo70]

good luck hedges! you will be fine! i expect to read about your first run later! this community is great for motivation !

[Hedges in reply to aliboo70]

Thanks for the welcome I'll be doing my best not to update y'all after every run as I might get carried away but I'll be sure to let you know. I'm not expecting great results but the community doesn't seem to care about that which is great My past "communities" have all been very caring about results which made it more difficult.

[Idolitorus Graduate in reply to Hedges]

God, everyone is inflicted with every single one of my runs and meandering thoughts. I don't see why you should get away with it!

Let us know each step of the way. It keeps us motivated too. Good luck.

[agedsnailspace Graduate]

You've done the hard part and committed, now just go do and then come back and tell us how it went. Try looking in at your nearest parkrun, too. You will find extra support and challenge there.

[Hedges in reply to agedsnailspace]

Thnks for that tip about parkruns, didn't even know about them. And I'm thorougly frightened off for the timebeing at least, maybe when I graduate, eh?

[agedsnailspace Graduate in reply to Hedges]

Don't be! Most of them have people that walk or walk/run. They all tend to be welcoming and are always encouraging. You will find all shapes/sizes/ages/levels of fitness there! Look up your local run on the internet - you will be able to see the times of the folks that take part. Don't look at the ones at the top of the list (they are scary fast!), but check out the tail end. You might find that much more encouraging. It really is a great way to start a Saturday!

[Tomas Graduate]

You've come to the right place Hedges. Welcome here. You can do it, and I'm absolutely certain that within the 9 weeks of the programme, you will find your love for running again

[Hedges in reply to Tomas]

Thank you, and yes, let's hope so. I'm struggling to even remember how it felt to be fit so if I get back to the place where I'm loving it... Well, as I said, let's hope so

[poppypug Graduate]

Welcome aboard Hedges !

You've come to the right place

Download the C25k podcasts and youre on your way .

Keep posting here of your progress , it really helps and don't be nervous about asking anything youre not sure of , as there will always be someone here who can help .

Good Luck and looking forward to following your progress xxx

[Hedges in reply to poppypug]

Thanks for the warm welcome I can see you're pretty active yourself from my board trawling so I'm sure we shall bump into each other on occaision

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Hedges]

Ha ha , If I ran as much as I posted, I would be giving Paula Radcliffe a run for her money xxx

[gary_bart]

Looks like all you need to get up to some level of fitness again is a bit of structure, and maybe a bit of support. You might also want to allow yourself two versions of the word "fit"? (One for a moderate maintenance level of fitness that can help you stay healthier for the rest of your life, and another for the high level of fitness you had when you were young). The reason I suggest that is that it's quite possible that when you complete c25k you're going to be pushing back toward that old high point again, and when you do, you want to make sure that if you slip in the massive effort that version of "fit" requires, you at least still can be happy with the lesser version of "fit", and don't go and fall all the way down to "nothing" from "all".

The nice thing about the new version of "fit" is that it won't absorb all your spare moments, and yet it'll give you all or most of the health benefits the more demanding version did.

Good luck with the programme.

[Hedges in reply to gary_bart]

You make a good point, one I haven't really thought of before, so thank you for that. It's true I have the all or nothing mentality in regard to my fitness, especially cardio, and I always do compare myself to how I use to be. It'll take some getting used to but I'll see what I can manage.

Thanks again.

[RunningForBroke Graduate]

Good luck! I just started as well (run 3 today). I have never been in shape, but I got disgusted by the me-shaped indentation on the couch. It's going to be tough, but you (and I) can do it 😊.

[Hedges in reply to RunningForBroke]

Good luck to you too friend, I'm pretty confident we've got this!

[RunningForBroke Graduate in reply to Hedges]

Yes we do. I'll try to post again today after my next run.

[misswobble Graduate]

Many on here, me included, were fat and unfit and never run or exercised before embarking on C25k but have managed to turn things round and get fit, slim or slimmer and healthy.

Have fun on your runs and don't go too fast !!!! You only need to finish the sessions. That's all. Time,speed,distance have no relevance here so you can chill out and enjoy yourself

Good luck

[c4ts Graduate]

Best decision Hedges, and welcome to HU. Despite what you say about current fitness you have the knowledge behind you of what you can achieve. JUst follow Laura and she will get you back into a running machine.

[ju-ju- Graduate]

You have everything going for you... And you are incredibly young... You will be fine, just focus and do it, and we will be here to support you 😎

[Hedges in reply to ju-ju-]

Incredibly young? I'll take it, thank you very much

[ju-ju- Graduate in reply to Hedges]

Believe me in my eyes you are... Enjoy

[sarah469 Graduate]

Welcome to the programme! I'm 25 too and unlike you I have never been fit since early childhood - not overweight, just really unfit. I spend a lot of time on my laptop which gives/gave me this ongoing guilt that something bad would happen to me in the future if I didn't start exercising soon.

Needless to say, I tried countless things for a few sessions - swimming, spinning, walking - and this is the only thing I've enjoyed and I've stuck at. I've just run for 20 minutes non-stop, for me 5 weeks ago, this would be absolutely unheard of!

Enjoy yourself and I hope you get a lot out of it

[Hedges in reply to sarah469]

It's the PC that's been my bane since I left school , that and just eating rubbish food constantly, I like food.

I'm glad you've managed to get into running, I (this may be rose tinted glasses) seem to remember there being no better feeling than being able to run at pace without struggling at all. Sense of freedom. Which may sound a bit corny but hey ho

[sarah469 Graduate in reply to Hedges]

Totally agree; I've only been able to do that on the shorter intervals so far but I'm hoping to get there! Keep us posted about how you get on!

[Hedges in reply to sarah469]

You're making progress, that's what counts, eh? I'm confident you'll get there before I will.

I almost certainly will, once I finish these night shifts, so Sunday night will be my first real update.

[Pigivi in reply to Hedges]

You can still like food (a lot) and not eat rubbish

Welcome to this madhouse ! :

[Hedges in reply to Pigivi]

Thank you And we'll see, I really do like eating rubbish.

[Anaverageman Graduate]

good luck youll be amazed by what you CAN achieve