Why Aren’t You Running Yet? Overcoming Obstacles and Becoming a Runner

Okay, so that’s a MASSIVE number of reasons to start running. Right now, you’re probably ready to get up and run out the door! But before you do that, stop and think for a minute. Because if you’re like most people, you may well have tried this before. Almost all of us have at some point given running a try. The problem is that most of us never stick with it and most of us quickly get bored of it.

So what’s going wrong?

Where Most New Runners Go Wrong

So where do most new runners go wrong? There are a number of places but the biggest issue by far is just the scale
of their ambition. Right now, you are probably tired and out of shape. That might sound rude but the fact of the matter is that most people are. Most people are so badly out of shape, that once you start running, you will
practically be a different species.

Most people spend 8 hours+ in an office every single day and they probably commute for 1-2 hours. That’s ten hours of stress each day and ten hours of breathing in toxic fumes, being shouted at and being crowded. So it’s no wonder than when they get home, they can’t muster the strength to do anything active. Most of us have admin and correspondence we need to sort out (file expenses, answer letter, phone Mum) and then we need to play with the kids, make the dinner and get an early night so we can start it all again tomorrow.

It’s no wonder than the small amount of time we do have is spent watching repeats on TV, or just staring into the distance. And it’s no wonder that so many of us will order fast food for dinner tonight. We barely ever use our bodies. We spend hours at a time locked into a hunched over, seated position and staring at a bright screen. We don’t sleep well. And we don’t eat right. Our resting heartrate is somewhere in the 80s and we’re carrying a huge amount of excess fat and flab.

Eventually, we get sick of this. So what do we do? We write a training program. That training program might involve running, or it might be based around lifting weights. Either way though, we set ourselves the task of working out
4-5 nights a week for an hour at a time. Maybe at a gym. And while we’re at it, we tell ourselves, we’re also going to start eating more healthily. That means no carbs!

And only 2,000 calories! We’ll track those calories and we’ll cook right. But wait, wait, wait! (Insert record scratch sound here). A moment ago, you were saying you have zero energy and you’re really out of shape. And now you intend to add hours of intensive exertion to your routine? While also not really eating enough to sustain yourself??
And you’re surprised it doesn’t work!

You can’t just go from nothing to something so incredibly intensive – it’s just not going to work. And time isn’t really the issue here. You probably have just about enough time. The issue is energy. Energy is not an infinite resource. Just because you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not there and it doesn’t mean it’s not important!

If you don’t have the energy to train, then you’re not going to train. It’s that simple. So if you try and introduce a MASSIVE training program, you’re going to fail. And then you’re going to be disheartened. And then you’re
going to decide that running doesn’t work, or it’s not for you.