Fitness Feature

My journey with fitness has been a roller-coaster. I’ve exercised for either emotional reasons or to reach a specific body goal. In tertiary, I wore a size 34 for the very first time in my life and that made me go from feeling confident to loathing my body. I knew that there were things I could do to change the way I looked, but that didn’t change my opinion of myself. I trained for 5 days a week and after a year, I reached my goal of going back to a size 30. However, my mental health was still not where it was supposed to be. I started working the following year and completely abandoned my healthy lifestyle, including what I was eating. A few years later, I was back to a size 34, bordering on size 36. I was completely uncomfortable in my own skin. Again, I created a very strenuous workout plan and lost all the excess weight in 6 weeks. But still, my mind was not okay and therefore, I gained all the weight back.

September 2016 - November 2016

This year, 2019, I’m back again to a size 34 and I have decided to take my entire being on this journey with me and make fitness my lifestyle. I’m now learning that my mind, body and spirit have to be in agreement for me to have long lasting results in anything that I choose to start doing. So, as a start, I asked one of the most inspirational fitness friends that I have to give me pointers on one of the ways that she uses to keep healthy and that is by running.

Khanyisile Vilakazi is a mother, a wife, a prominent IT professional, a cyclist, a marathon runner and gym fanatic, amongst other things. She also recently graduated in the top 3 of her class at Wits Business School. Now, this is a busy lady who makes time and prioritises her fitness. Here are her wise words. I hope they help you as much as they have helped me.

Running to keep in shape, to lose weight or for the social element of the sport 

By Khanyisile Vilakazi

Whatever your reasons are for getting started, running remains one of the cost-effective ways to keep active for the following reasons:

1. No gym equipment is required.
2. No monthly premiums to be paid.
3. All you need is a good pair of running shoes.

The benefits span beyond just looking good; running is good for your overall mental health, boosts your immune system and is a good stress reliever too.

Where and how do I begin, you may wonder:

Get a medical clearance from your doctor.

It is extremely important to get a medical assessment first and obtain a go-ahead from your doctor before beginning with any exercise, not just running.

Buy the correct pair of running shoes.

When looking for a good pair of running shoes, looks are not the deciding factor on whether to buy the shoes or not; the following are the factors to be considered:

• your weight;
• how your foot lands on the ground (pronating, supinating, neutral), and
• the surface you will be running on (road, trail).

Some running shops do offer free assessment and advise on which shoe is best suited for you.

Start small and progress gradually.

Starting small and allowing your body to gradually adapt eliminates injuries, fatigue and overuse or related illnesses.

Example on progressing gradually:

Week 1: walk 1 min, run 1 min…. repeat this for 2-3KMs.

Week 2: walk 1 min, run 2mins…. repeat this for 2-3KMs.

Carry on like this until you can comfortably run for 2-3KM, then increase the distance until you can run 4kms comfortably, then move on to 5KMs and so on.

If you are not keen on being a long-distance runner or if time is a constraint, then once you get to 5KMs, do not increase the distance rather start working on improving your time. For example, you start by running 5KMs comfortably in 45min, then work on bringing the time to 40mins, then 35mins and so on.

Just like any exercise, running must be complimented with good nutrition to be more effective and to be enjoyable.

Additional notes:

1. It never gets easier; you continuously have to push yourself until you get better.
2. Running requires consistency.
3. Once the running bug hits you, there’s no looking back.

All the best on your running journey. It will not be easy but it will be so fulfilling and you will thank yourself ultimately!