At a young age, I wasn’t really into sports.
In fact, I couldn’t do much physical activity because of asthma and other health issues. Any moderate exercise would have me gasp for air, like a heavy smoker. Gym class was always challenging for me to the point where I ended up avoiding it entirely in high school. I came to the logical conclusion that sports were just not for me and focused on other hobbies instead.
I am now 30, in the best shape of my life. I can run up a mountain or hike for 10 hours without a single respiratory issue.
So what happened?
How did I get to this point? I simply gave it a try. Step by step, month after month, I put myself in ever increasingly challenging situations. I took my desire to be outdoors as my main motivation and went with it. Once I realized that it was what I wanted to do, my health issues became irrelevant. They disappeared by me not caring for them or how they could limit my potential. I stopped considering pain as a sign of failure, but as a sign of improvement.
There are many stories of athletes who started with much worse conditions than what I had to deal with and are now considered to be some of the strongest human beings on the planet. Their limitations forced them to be more resilient, push harder, smarter to reach their goal.
Each individual is different. What might work for somebody will not necessarily work for someone else. We all have our own reasons to become more active. But the most important is to think about what you can accomplish if you give your dreams a chance.
I see people twice my age in the best shape of their life, driven by their passion.
So when is it too late to start being active? Maybe tomorrow…
