I weigh less in kilograms than my age in years and been on the planet long enough to know that people come up with all kinds of excuses as to why they don’t exercise.
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Always, “I haven’t the time,” most times “I haven’t the knees,” and often “I couldn’t run 50 metres to save myself.”
A sense of propriety prevents me from saying what I really think: that “you don’t know what’s good for you,” or “how many hours a week do you spend on the phone, on Facebook or watching The Bachelorette?”
Knees not conditioned to running are going to hurt a little, at first, if years of activity have been confined to supporting your weight sitting down to watch mindless television and then standing up to go to bed.
So, just how do you eschew what might be a lifetime of bad habits and hop on the “treadmill” in the hope of joining the ranks of the fit and healthy?
First of all, don’t buy a treadmill! They have their places in gyms and for the truly committed, but a decent one will set you back at least $1500. I used mine just six times in two years before selling it at half the cost.
From April to September, I race weekends with the Stawell Amateur Athletic Club and the Stawell and Ararat Cross Country Club.
I thought the treadmill might be useful to train indoors on the coldest and most inclement days but those days are rare and can be easily avoided by being flexible and keeping an eye on the seven-day weather forecasts.
To condition your knees for running, you must take it slowly.
Do not run on unforgiving bitumen, but do run on convenient grassland.
Start with one lap of an oval (Great Western racecourse cured my aching knees) and build to three laps in three weeks.
Already you are running about 1500 metres, the fresh air is unclogging your head and provided that you are decked in quality shoes your knees are at ease. You’ve only been out for about 10 minutes and discovered that you really do have the time, after all.
* Keith Lofthouse conducts free running drills at Central Park, Stawell, from 6pm on Mondays.