In the last 2 years, I became fat for the first time in my life.
Not obese.
But overweight.
Until age 25 I had hovered just under 70kg.
Then, all of a sudden, I put on a handful of kilos and 75kg was my new fighting weight.
For the next few years I hovered between 72-78kg.
Still quite trim.
And when I jumped back into playing squash my body became strong & chiseled.
I was fitter and stronger than when I was a teenager.
And as a teenager, I won cross-country races, swimming championships, athletic championships, not to mention being one of the best squash players in the country.
So as a self-sustained fit adult, I was feeling great, physically.
Then 3 years ago I started working full-time.
Sitting or lying down after work became the norm.
Eating potato chips, chocolate and other shit became the norm.
93kg at just under 6 feet tall, or about 180cm.
Big gut. Big ass. Jowls on the face.
I find it fascinating how our bodies adapt.
If you sit or lie down, your body gets used to it.
If you go nuts exercising or stretching, your body gets used to it.
So, at the start of this working year (August 2019), this is what I did – went nuts exercising.
I just made the decision.
Instead of catching the service bus to school each morning (15km) I began commuting to work on foot.
At first, I would run-walk-run-walk-walk.
Within 2 weeks my body was getting used to the new routine.
75km per week.
After 4 weeks, I was feeling strong (and light) again. Running non-stop was becoming easier.
And I was starting to power up a big, steep hill along the way without stopping to walk up the incline.
By the 5th week I was getting to school in 90 minutes. Not an ultra-fast pace, but with the handful of substantial inclines, not too bad either.
After 8 weeks I had lost 13kg.
At the end of the 8th week I ran home after school instead of running in the morning.
That meant running down the very steep incline. I powered down.
It was too much impact over such a short time.
The muscles in & around my hips suffered. So I stopped running to school.
It took about 2 months for them to get fully back to normal.
I might start running again. However, these days I’m enjoying stretching and bodyweight exercises again, which I’m documenting on my squash fitness tips YouTube channel.
What’s fascinating to me is how the body adapts.
Of course, as we age our bodies get less adaptable than when we were kids, however, I believe we are more adaptable than most people think.
