Pilates instructor and co-founder of define pilates, Vicky Shepherd penns her experience and tips on finding consistency with movement this season.
On the 22nd of October 2019 I signed up for the Brighton Marathon. What ensued was a gorgeous pair of new Nikes and the download of a 6-month plan to get me to the streets of the seaside town. 30-days later and I was done. Yes, I’d completed a handful of weekend runs but, these were driven by the lollies in my front pack rather than a love of running. During the week, I would put off every run that was in my ‘fail-proof’ plan. So, the day the marathon was cancelled was one of the happiest days of my life. I ordered another G&T at the bar and raised a cheers to zero runs in my future.
Post those thirty days, I thought I’d discovered three things about myself.
- I hated running
- I lacked any self discipline
- I lacked any willpower
I was wrong.
Self discipline and willpower have absolutely nothing to do with it. I hadn’t found “my” form of movement. You see, I’m a former high intensity exercise obsessed runner. Over the last ten years my exercise life has swung from daily HIIT sessions at Sydney studios to pounding the pavements of London. I loved to sweat but I hated to be consistent. The silver-lining. This has led me to a full exploration of different types of movement. And, the nail in the coffin, by way of a covid cancelled first marathon attempt, led me into a discovery of pilates.
This low impact, yet sweat-inducing exercise entirely redefined my relationship with exercise.
