I was ashamed to go to the gym. I was afraid of the unknown. To go there alone and not know what to do. I could go with a friend, but all my friends were weak and extremely beautiful, so that would only emphasize even more the contrast between us. What should I wear there? With those pants I wore for the days dedicated especially to cleaning the house and the widest and blackest t-shirt I have in the closet? I better postpone the time to buy a gym membership and keep a little diet, eventually I go out in the park to run and when I go to the gym I will be in better shape. You don't know how many times I've said these things to myself. And I didn't go on a diet, I didn't go out running, and that's how I didn't get to the gym.
I am not proud of these facts, but because I now have a completely different perspective, I feel I have a responsibility to tell you all these things.
There is a saying that if you really want something you will always be able to find solutions, and if you don't really want it, you will always find excuses. And the excuse that most people around me invoke is lack of time. I had others, but just as effective.
And speaking of shame, laziness, lack of time, I want to tell you a story that helped me completely erase certain prejudices from my mind. Towards the end of the summer I started running outside, through parks. The first times I went accompanied and I was always looking to have someone to go running with, even if I had different rhythms. In fact, if I was with someone else, I didn't feel as vulnerable to giving up quickly, listening to possible unpleasant comments I might have heard from those around me, or even reacting to all the excuses I made. I found in my mind: the asphalt has too many unevenness, I do not have the right shoes for running, the park is too crowded, it seems too cold and I better stop to prevent a cold, etc. I'm a creative person, so I can find more excuses than you can imagine.
My personal goal is to run 10km by the end of this year without stopping. I still don't know if I will succeed, but so far I have been able to run 8km without a break. That means about 13 complete laps of the lake in Moghioroș Park.
And as I ran slowly one evening, I kept watching young people or couples on the benches on the alley around the lake. It was as if we already knew each other. Although I had headphones in my ears and couldn't hear them, I knew some were amused by me. It's probably a slightly hilarious picture to see plump running alone, and not knowing all the effort behind it #MyBodyJourney, maybe they were making all kinds of funny scenarios about how I want to lose weight in one night. Or maybe the scripts were just in my head. But among all those people that I completely ignored, there was a couple around the age of 35 that I started to draw attention to after about 5-6 laps. The young people started to smile at me when I passed them, to make a gesture of applause or to take off my hat, and even at the tenth lap they told me that they stayed special to see how many laps I would run and that they admired me. Thanks to them, that evening, I forgot my watch and simply ran because I wanted to see if I was still there. When I saw the empty bench I was a little disappointed, but looking at my Fitbit bracelet I saw that I had run over 7km and I thought it was a shame not to try to run 8km. And I did it. And I was very happy with myself, as a result, with the fact that the fat proved that it can and can exceed the expectations of many. Those people did me a great deal of good and not only because they unwittingly helped me outperform my performance until then, but because in my mind the strongest memory of the move out is a beautiful one, and not one that would discourage me.
Where does my motivation to play sports come from?
- From the changes I see on my body: more energy, more endurance when I climb some ordinary stairs, clothes with smaller measures that sit nicer.
- from #selfies which I do at the gym and which suggest arrogance on the surface, but which helps me see my progress over the months or years.
- From the assortment of colorful and cheerful equipment I wear. If in the first hour of sports I was dressed in black from head to toe, and the clothes were as wide as possible, now I choose the brightest colors and the most molded clothes. I choose molded because I feel comfortable during exercise. And I don't mind seeing my cellulite, curls or fluffy arms. Tell me if there is a better place to expose your imperfections, if not at the gym, where you have to see exactly what you work for.
- From the messages I receive from you through which you also send me your results and how #MyBodyJourney influenced you to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
I took the courage to share all these thoughts with you because of the brand 4F he proposed that we team up and join their efforts to encourage people to move. Any kind of movement. Because I fully resonate with the message and because #MyBodyJourney is about my journey to a state of well-being in which sport is an important component, I didn't think too much and accepted.
4F is a Polish brand of sporting goods and accessories that recently entered the Romanian market. They currently have 4 stores in Bucharest in the most popular malls (Park Lake, Mega Mall, Promenada and Militari Shopping), but they also have shop online for those living outside Bucharest.
With an experience of over 12 years, 4F offers clothing to both performance athletes and amateurs who practice various disciplines (fitness, aerobics, cycling, tennis, running, skiing, etc.).
I already have 3 sets of equipment and a sweatshirt for running and I am satisfied with the models, cuts, material and the quality of the products in general. After more than two years of doing sports almost daily, I realized exactly what materials I feel comfortable in and what are the cuts that benefit me. And the 4F offer is quite generous.
COMPETITION
Because together we want to encourage you to introduce sport or moderate exercise into your lives, or just to motivate you to push your limits to get better results wearing the right equipment, we thought we would offer you 3 complete equipments (consisting of 3 pieces: pants / tights, T-shirt and sweatshirt) by competition. I am very pleased with this collaboration, first of all because it is something that really concerns me, but also because I can involve you as well. Finally, not only are you involved in #MyBodyJourney, but I can also get actively involved with 4F in #YourJourney!
What do you have to do to enter the contest?
- Share this article on your Facebook profile / page with the message #winbeforestart. The share must be public, so I can check too.
- Answer the question in a comment on this article: What would motivate you to start playing sports?
- In the same comment, leave the share link on Facebook and your email address to contact you in case you won.
Registration period: November 15 - 29, 2017.
Announcement of winners: November 30, 2017.
Awards: There will be 3 winners who will receive a complete set of sports equipment consisting of 3 pieces (for example: T-shirt, sweatshirt and pants / tights). You have to tell us what measure you want, and the prizes will be sent to you.
* To participate in the contest you must live in Romania, regardless of the city where you live.
Good luck!
First of all, thank you for all your entries. I read all the comments and had at least 20 favorites. Unfortunately this time I had to choose only 3 people. I hope to organize another contest soon.
The 3 winners are:
26 comments
The most important reason for starting sports is health. We have never had serious health problems, but we know that fat and more pounds than we should normally have will affect our health over time.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1737110763028975&id=100001902036876
roxanaandreea2428@gmail.com
The motivation would be that I want to be healthy, the clothes to sit harmoniously on me.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=802694113251968&id=100005341600699
Alinasmaranda57@gmail.com
The strongest motivation to start sports would be my health, but also the few extra kg that I feel I have are a very good reason, but I keep saying tomorrow ... I hope that day will come for me too
https://www.facebook.com/lupu.nicoleta.98/posts/740924909427353?pnref=story
e-mail ..gabitza_anca @ yahoo.com
It would motivate me the most to know that I will finally have that fit body that I have wanted for so long… and I think that if I had a personal trainer, it would push me to keep working and get what what I want.
https://www.facebook.com/alexa.ilinca/posts/10210046513070553
alexa.ilinca@yahoo.com
what would motivate me? certainly the fact that sport means health
https://www.facebook.com/roxana.georgiana.39/posts/1736735253025477
roxanad19@yahoo.com
Although I am a student and time does not allow me to go to the gym, I try to run every day, no matter how little. When I am left alone in the dorm room, I also do some abs, knee bends, etc. Motivation: there is time for anything if you know how to plan your time. Sport helps me a lot, especially to relax after a hard day of college, when I know how much I have to learn or write. When I move I only think there and after I am full of energy and very happy.
Unfortunately, I can't share this article because I don't have a Facebook page, but I go to your blog every day to see if you've posted anything. Congratulations on your motivation, you look great!
My motivation would be if my husband told me that I should lose weight, he recently beat me up. I think it would be necessary to start sports.
Kiss you Thank you for the opportunity to start doing sports by giving us the set as a gift
Share link
https://www.facebook.com/daniela.constantin.372/posts/1499649170123882
I have several reasons to lose weight. First of all, for my health, and for me to feel good. Secondly, I want to lose weight, to be still sexy for my husband, and beautiful for my little boy.
And, honestly now, no matter how much we trust ourselves, my opinion is that it looks better and we feel weaker than when we have extra kg. For our well-being. And for, when we walk down the street, to walk with our heads held high, confident. In addition, from extra kg, it can lead to obesity, which is often fatal, unfortunately. ?
I have several reasons to lose weight. First of all, for my health, and for me to feel good. Secondly, I want to lose weight, to be still sexy for my husband, and beautiful for my little boy.
And, honestly now, no matter how much we trust ourselves, my opinion is that we look better and feel weaker than when we have extra pounds. For our well-being. And for, when we walk down the street, to walk upside down, confident. In addition, from extra kg, it can lead to obesity, which is often fatal, unfortunately. ?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=361116177645227&id=100012405423635
Physical activity means a healthier life, here is my motivation to do sports. I would also add well-being, beauty, suppleness, these are just some of the reasons why I chose to do sports and I only had to earn for as in the summer and so far I have lost a few pounds (about 10) eating healthy doing sports.
link
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/winbeforestart?source=feed_text&story_id=1477634428971895&pnref=story
my address: kkrmen@yahoo.com
I would be motivated by the well-being I gained after playing sports, my health and my change for the better.
https://www.facebook.com/ioanaloredanag/posts/10210467889481232?notif_id=1511432787142696¬if_t=like
ioana.grosu2@yahoo.com
The motivation would be the fact that I want to have a beautiful body, the clothes to sit nicely on me and at the same time to be healthy so that I can enjoy life.
Link:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1079384458831403&id=100002795763815
My address:
gavrilutadaniela76@gmail.com
I really want to get back into sports. I want to regain the muscle tone I had before I got pregnant and in addition, I really miss exercising and having little time for myself. I hope the fan will let me get back to you as soon as possible. Keep up the good job, Ioana! https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1602647586461486&id=100001487812553
What motivated me to start sports are the transformations I see in others and the desire to improve my physical condition and especially the fact that I can wear smaller sizes to my clothes. Self-confidence, beauty and suppleness make you feel very good in your skin.
This is the share link:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=918363398321867&id=100004446462291
badea.adrianaa@yahoo.com
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1468685473229477&id=100002641143169 The fact that I see results on my own body motivates me even more to do sports. In addition, sport is a source of energy that gives you a healthy and supple body. 😊
ploscariu.damaris@gmail.com
link share: https://www.facebook.com/anca.gabriela.9400/posts/1565394696863552
The fact that I can fit in a pair of jeans with 2 smaller numbers!
The fact that I would have a better state of health, I would not get tired so quickly, the clothes would fit me much better, and the sport would restore my good mood and energy.
Facebook share link: https://www.facebook.com/maricica12/posts/1174481979348630
mail: sutamaricica@yahoo.com
https://www.facebook.com/cristina.vl.35/posts/1085037951599760 the desire to improve my physical condition and especially the fact that I can wear smaller sizes to my clothes
I've already started! For almost 3 months. It's a new kind of life 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/andreea.beatrice.ungureanu
The main reason would be health, and in second place the wardrobe 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/ph.vio/posts/1743716285648312?pnref=story
blue_t42003@yahoo.com
After 40 years I started to gain weight seeing with my own eyes, I gained 20 kg within a few years… the best motivation is health, for some time I have been thinking about starting to go to the gym, that's why I want a sports set which would be useful and a plus reason to go 😁 share: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1564851033605000&id=100002403564976 e-mail: rodicagranpier@ymail.com
First of all for my husband. To look good in front of him. Although she tells me that I am the most beautiful, I feel that I have to lose weight in order to feel more attracted and to be bolder in front of him. And secondly for me. To feel more confident in me. And not to hide behind loose, old and ugly clothes. To dress in the beautiful clothes in the closet that I look at every day.
Link share: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1601693309892238&id=100001547542397
Email address: alyssa.cynthia.v@gmail.com
Unsightly health and kg. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1109879072481435&id=100003780592228
What I see in the mirror would motivate me, namely the results. Also, the state offered after training, pride and self-gratitude following something done strictly for oneself.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10214223856051151&id=1257394916
sorinamincu@yahoo.com