Sweat Pants Athlete Manifesto

Hey...I know another post so soon??

Well this one is less work because I didn't actually write it, but I wanted to share it with everyone because it was so encouraging to me.

This is from Jen Keogh, a really good friend and someone I love to geek out with about this stuff:

It's so easy to compare ourselves with others especially in terms of exercising.  There are the "real runners"  and "real bikers."  You know, the ones with aerodynamic spandex and calves that could cut diamonds.  The ones who are cover models for Runner's World and exercise in outfits worth more than my rent.  And if you're like me, you get passed while running or biking or swimming by one of these athletic gods and you think "Why bother...I'm not a real athlete. I'm just out here trying to get in shape...but I'll never be that shape."

So this manifesto is for us, to remind us no one is perfect and we're all in this race to get healthier together.

The Sweat Pants Manifesto:

We race to finish not to win.

We exercise in t-shirts from high school and sweat pants from Goodwill.

We get passed by moms in spandex pushing stroller's...when we're riding a bike.

We don't use energy bars or protein drinks; we eat ice cream after a run.

We aren't sure what a tempo run is.

We purchase running shoes based on how they feel, what colors they are, and where they were made.

We don't care how long it takes to run a mile but that we ran a little farther and a little faster than before.

We consider dancing alone in our underwear an aerobic routine.

We ride a bike to get from point A to point B.  It's efficient exercise.

It doesn't matter how much or how fast we lose weight but that we are a healthier version of us than a year ago.

We've run in the pouring rain, in three feet of snow, in 90 degree heat, and up and down the hills of Pittsburgh--but these things don't make us runners.  Choosing to get off the couch and taking our health in our hands makes us athletes.

We workout with friends or at the YMCA, and eat birthday cake at parties.

We shout obscenities at the aerobics instructor on the dvd and at our shins when it hurts to keep going.

Helping someone move is some of the best exercise.

We make up cheers, songs, chants, and crazy stories to encourage ourselves to keep going.

We eat healthy; We exercise so we don't have to all the time.

There are things worth spending some money on: good shoes, a reliable bike, and a bathing suit that is not transparent when wet.

We celebrate the small victories of walking up stairs without getting winded or getting to the end of the workout.

We exercise to be healthy so to enjoy life more, but exercise is not our life.

No matter the age, weight, fitness, equipment, clothes, or distance, we're all on the same path to becoming healthier, and we're all on that path together.

We don't exercise to be better than someone else; we do it to be a better version of ourselves.
---

Feel free to add and share.  I want it to be an encouragement for people.  It's a way of validating the work we're putting in and the results that come from it, no matter how the work or results compare to others.

Peace,
Jennifer R Keogh