When you’re 18 or 23 fitness tends to be more of a breeze. We find ourselves running on the treadmill or working out at the gym for an hour or so with little effort. However at 40, the bursts of energy are a little more difficult to conjure.
So what do we do? Well, people have various ways of incentivising themselves to exercise. Some people promise themselves a treat after their workout, others focus on a goal of strength or weigh loss to get them through the challenge. Me? I use the 80’s.
As an 80’s baby, I have a switch inside my soul that automatically lights up and pumps adrenaline when I hear 80’s music. If I’m feeling down and have zero energy and a song like ‘We didn’t start the Fire‘ comes on, I’m invincible.
The only other way I get motivated is by exercising with friends. At home (sans 80’s hits) I watch the numbers on the treadmill creep slowly and sluggishly forward as if they’d rather go backwards, but give me four friends and an open road and I’m much more willing to jog along without looking at my watch for 30 minutes.
Does everyone find their exercise sweet spot by 40? Maybe or maybe not. I think that at age 20 we feel invincible in general and then there’s a shift in our mentality when we turn 40 that reminds us to prioritise our health and fitness, and we’re forced to find ways to make it fun.
Turns out I haven’t written about fitness before so I’ll leave you with a link to my review of Johann Hari’s book: Stolen Focus, which is completely unrelated but it’s a must-read and because this is my blog and I can add whichever links I like 😉
Deborah Aremband(http://www.Deborah.aremband.co.za)