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
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Hedges
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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.
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.
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?
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!
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
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
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
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.
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.
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 😊.
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
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.
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!
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
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i expect to read about your first run later! this community is great for motivation ! 
Unfit, fat fifty one year old
Fat 50 and unfit! 
Another sunny 3.5K to build my run frequency back up 😁
I'm BACK!
