As Dads, we enjoy regaling our spouses, significant others, friends and especially our children with tales of past accomplishments, particularly those of the athletic variety. (Al Bundy’s four touchdowns in the 1966 city championship game, being one such example). For many, the memories of past glories remain in the past. Others try to regain at least a part of those past glories, or at least some of the fitness we had when we were younger.
I was a runner in High School. I was pretty fast and was a sprinter for a couple seasons and ran cross country for a couple others. Forward almost 20 years, while I was in “decent” shape, I was feeling like I was having trouble keeping up with my growing children and knew I needed to become more fit. I decided to take up something I thought I knew, running. For a few years, I became a pretty good runner and ran 5Ks, then 10Ks, half marathons and a couple marathons. Then, due to work stress, family obligations or just general malaise, I all but stopped.
Now, I want to get back in shape again and again, I have returned to running. This time, I plan to be smart and use what I have learned in the past, as well as some new strategies, to make my comeback successful. So far, I’m over four months back into this new chapter and it is going well. I wanted to share what has been working for me, as it may prove helpful to other Dads in a similar situation. (Please consult your physician before beginning a workout regimen).
Make Your Time
You will probably always be busy between work, family, maintaining your home and other commitments. However, it is important to realize that your physical (and mental) health is important too, and without maintaining both, everything else can suffer. The best advice I can give is to find out when you can fit time in to workout at least a couple times a week and stick with it. For me, I decided that I could give myself 45 minutes to an hour twice during the week before work and a bit more time on Saturday. These are “my times” where I find I have the energy and will to exercise and when I am not “in demand” from outside forces. For others, you may find that evenings work or that you will need to be more flexible due to other commitments and cannot reserve specific dates and times. The main thing is to establish that it is important and that can help to stick with it.
Start Out Slowly
My latest comeback is not the first attempt, just the most successful, to date. Part of the reason for that is, in other attempts, I just tried to do too much, too fast. This can lead to burn out, frustration or injury. It took a while to realize that I’m not going to be able to do what I did when I was younger or at my adult peak.
For example, it is okay to start out running shorter distances, or alternate running and walking, when starting a new training regimen. Don’t worry if you used to run at an 8 minute / mile pace and now are struggling to run an 11 minute / mile pace. It may be frustrating (it was one of my biggest hurdles to come to grips with), but embrace it as a reality and know that, with steady effort, it is likely that improvement will come. (Also, here’s a secret: Unless you are a high level or professional athlete, nobody cares how fast you run or ride, how high or far you jump or how much you can lift.)
Take it to Heart
One thing I have learned is to use my heart rate to gauge my effort when working out. Most of the current athletic watches from Garmin, Apple, Fitbit, Polar, etc. now feature heart rate monitors which can give you your current heart rate, allow you to set heart rate alerts and view an electronic chart of your heart rate during a workout.
I would suggest getting several workouts in and then finding your current baselines (what is your normal heart rate during a standard, moderate workout and where is it when you push harder). At this time, I have found that my heart rate while working out is higher than it was while I was in “peak condition”, but it is trending lower, at the same perceived effort, as my fitness improves. My preferred method of using heart rate is analyzation after workouts rather than during, but do your research and see what works best for you. (Again, consult your physician for health advise for your particular situation).
But Don’t Lose Heart
Not everything is going to go your way as you pursue your fitness goals. Resilience is more important than adherence to a particular plan. Need to miss a workout due to a work, travel or family commitments? It isn’t the end of the world and you don’t need to start over. Pick an alternate day to fit in your run or ride or simply discount it and move on. Not experiencing the improvement in fitness you expected or you feel like you are reaching a plateau? Totally normal. Fitness is not a straight line moving upward. Just remember that, whether you are looking to improve fitness or simply maintain it, being active is nearly always better than the alternative.
Aim for a Goal
Some people can be satisfied with getting their blood pumping and feel good about exercising and improving their health. I envy these people because, while I think I am getting better about it, I have the need to set goals. Big goals, little goals, always working toward something. It isn’t that setting a goal is bad, quite the contrary. Setting realistic goals that are satisfying to you can be tremendous motivation.
My preferred sport of running is, fortunately, loaded with the ability to set goals. I want to run this far, or this fast or, most often, a combination of both. You can ready yourself to run a 5K or a marathon or anything in between (or beyond). I tend to set goals that are challenging but attainable (not that I reach them all) as a tool to help maintain my motivation to continue running.
Create Good Habits
There are numerous studies that try to find out how long it takes to make a good habit. I searched briefly while writing this article and found so many (too many) different answers. Is it 21 days or is it 40 days? 66 days is the average. It takes 21 days to break a bad habit and 90 days to make a good one! So many different takes. Like almost everything, everyone is different. Personally, I am at the point in my running habit that I assume that I will run as regularly scheduled and, if I need to miss a run, I may be slightly disappointed but not discouraged. I believe that is a healthy perspective to have and hope it will continue.
I hope that there is at least an idea or two in this article that will speak to the Dads (or anyone) out there and provide some motivation to make a positive fitness change. Have other ideas? Please let us know in the comments section or contact us. See you on the road!