Read the transcript here:
I am Karo Müller Korn and I am a coach at CrossFit Sankt Pauli in Bahrenfeld in Hamburg. And I teach people or accompany them on their way to becoming healthier and fitter.
So integrating exercise as a habit is super difficult because we have a great everyday life, we have a family, we have children, we have a 40-hour job or more. And if you don’t do this consciously, then it’s difficult for people to set appointments. So and then you never started or you thought okay, no exercise for 20 years, now start again, it’s getting worse and worse and then you put it off a bit. And that is actually the problem behind it. So the biggest problems are actually mobility, because most of us have sedentary jobs, that is, we sit at a desk and then we get back pain and our legs are a little shortened. So very few people come standing with their legs stretched on the floor. And that is exactly the problem, that you are then shortened and restricted and then every beginning is extremely difficult.
I would actually pay attention. The torso in particular has fallen asleep a lot. Because we sit and always sit on our butts, the torso no longer needs any tension. And that’s what you notice most here. When we want to pick something up, the first thing we do is always lower our back instead of keeping our body tense. And it’s very important that you always keep that in focus. Also, how do I pick up a water box, for example, or a bag of charcoal or something like that? That’s just core tension. And that’s exactly where the focus should be when you start again. And many people then want to go jogging straight away and start with a long ten kilometer lap and caution is advised because the body has to adapt, it has to get used to it. From zero to 100 is like a car that has been standing for ten years. The car doesn’t think that’s cool and neither does the body.
So I would always say, start with everyday exercise! 10,000 steps is a book rule, but it helps a lot because we have a sedentary job and most people take the elevator or then directly by car. Maybe use the bike or the stairs? Yes, it is at work. Then you get to the top of the 13th floor and sniffle. But that is exactly the everyday movement that will make it easier for us to start exercising at some point. And in the same way at home, try to have a desk or at work, make sure you get a desk or try to incorporate breaks from sitting, go to the printer and don’t say, the printer is at the desk. Little things like that allow for a lot of movement. And if you want to start at home, start with very simple things such as squats, sitting down on the chair and getting up again or even push-ups on your knees. Very banal things that you actually learned in elementary school or at school, but that you have forgotten. Or if you have children, grandchildren, start playing with them. This supports the organism and gets us going again.
And the question is okay, do I want to lose ten kilos? Is this my goal or do I really want to be a healthy person? And if I want it to be healthier, then I would always look for a group, so make sure that I have commitments so that I can say okay, we meet every Wednesday at 6 p.m., no matter what the weather is and we go in the car or we go to a course together and we just have to create time slots because we also have time slots for work and it’s just become a routine and we also have time slots for family. This will also become a routine. And it’s just as important with sport, because just because we started doesn’t mean that it’s completely integrated, we just always need a reminder and a calendar entry. Okay, it’s part of it and it’s like homework. It should be done.
