Exercise Routine

Taken during a morning run in
Kuala Lumpur recently

When I started, I could barely last 15 minutes. Breathlessness, the strain on the knees, and most of all the boredom. I don't like the heat so running on the treadmill in the air-conditioned gym was my preference. Spotify or Youtube only reduced the boredom ever so slightly. The most frustrating thing with the treadmill is that it tells you how little you have done, especially the number of calories burnt.

One day, when the treadmill was occupied (there are 2 in the condo gym but 1 is perpetually out of order), I decided to run around the condo premises. It started with 4 rounds, and over time it went up to 6. Sometimes I would lose count and end up not being sure if I did an extra round. It would take me about 1/2 hour, beyond which my systems would start shutting down - the ship falls off the edge of world. Again I found it difficult to overcome the boredom of doing multiple rounds. That's the same reason I can't make myself do laps in the pool even though I used to swim regularly in my younger days.

To beat the boredom, I started running around the neighbourhood probably about 4 months ago. From about 40 minutes, I've slowly managed to nudge myself to do slightly longer routes lasting about an hour, a couple of times a week. More recently, I've been able to get it up to 75-90 minutes, albeit at a slow pace. I even ran when I was holidaying in Bali and Kuala Lumpur.

The biggest barrier for me in getting started has simply been the unwillingness to give up some amount of comfort. When I am not at work, I would rather be with the family or be sleeping in. I've heard people say that exercise is a great way to unwind or de-stress, which is absolutely rubbish in my case - I just feel complete exhaustion. There was no other way to get through the mental barrier except to just get on with it; get out of bed as soon as I am awake before the analysis sets in; de-link what I have to do  from my emotions and keep the mind focused on finishing the present task.

I am really thankful for all the people who have been sharing their exercise routines on Facebook.  These people have full time jobs, family and other commitments, and yet they have taken the time to exercise. Each and everyone of them remind me that I don't have a good excuse to lead a sedentary life. If they can do a marathon or triathlon, then I can at least go for a run around the neighbourhood.