Comment by Cryptonic
3 years ago
Great point! I am 40 and when I look at pictures of myself 10 years ago, I look and feel much much better now. One day in my early thirties I started running and going to the gym. But I had phases of extreme motivation following phases of zero motivation. A personal trainer might have helped, but is expensive.
What really brought a turning point was when I discovered a sport I always wanted to do, but did not know it exists in that form. Historical fencing (HEMA). - There I found good friends and sport. Sometimes when I have no energy, I still go to training to meet them. Also this sport is very competitive, be it in sparring with friends or tournaments. If you do not stay in shape and train, your performance will visibly look bad and people start asking you what's wrong and how they can help.
So that's my advice. If a personal trainer is nothing for you, take a look at competitive sports, even if you are too old for world ranking and such. Try to find the gym or group where the people, including the trainers, are interesting to you and you feel welcome. - This way motivation will become totally positively intristic. Actually you will be sad if you miss a training or event. =)
One great thing about HEMA is that just walking around in full gear constitutes exercise.
I was part of a group presenting as the Teutonic Order because there was a dearth of baddies in the community.
But the absolutely best thing about this sport is that there's an easy solution to every conflict or misunderstanding - combat!
This sounds really good, I find the best exercise is done when you're focusing on something else (just got back from building/striking a festival in the desert and lost about 5kg, for instance). Have found a historical fencing club in London and emailed them.