Introduction to Easy Fitness for Quitters
On being a quitter
Do you hate the idea of going to the gym? Does the thought of playing sport make you shudder? If you know you ought to be fitter, but you just can’t seem to stick to a regime or you can’t find any form of exercise you actually enjoy, this is for you.
I am not a fitness guru or a gym bunny. I can’t run a marathon or do fifty press-ups, never have. I start a new exercise class or fitness plan and give it up within weeks. I find myself looking longingly at the clock twenty minutes in to a class that the trainer insists is going to be ‘fun’.
In other words, when it comes to exercise, I’m a quitter.
Actually, I’m a recovering quitter. I have found forms of exercise I genuinely enjoy, and I know why I’m doing them and accept that I am doing enough, even if it might not look like what we’ve been led to believe ‘keeping fit’ should look like. You can reach this point too, I promise. That’s why I wrote Easy Fitness for Quitters.
Almost everyone I’ve ever seen encouraging people to exercise is someone who already loves it. Most of the books I’ve read about health and fitness are by people who studied exercise or movement because they love it, or casually mention that they used to do a sport competitively. These people may know the science behind why we should exercise, and they know what the benefits of it are, but they don’t really speak to those of us who have never seen ourselves as ‘sporty’.
All of us want to live a full and healthy life for as long as possible. No one wants to stagger into old age being decrepit and unable to enjoy the things we used to. Whatever age we are now, we should have the energy to go out and do stuff, to feel strong and confident in our bodies and what they can do. It’s no fun feeling knackered, grumpy and weak.
Whatever your starting point and whatever your physical abilities, there will be things you can do to improve your fitness. All the advice in the book is very general, and not designed to constitute a training plan. Nothing in the book is medical advice and is not to be taken as such. You know your own body, and the aim behind this book is to help you work with what you’ve got, what you enjoy and what you feel comfortable doing.[*]
[*]If you have any concerns about your health or ability to perform any kind of movement, please speak to a health professional.
