Exercise
My personal journey of exercising
I began exercising seriously since around early 2019; that’s when my health hit a rock bottom - due to not paying attention to work-life balance and well-being. Since then exercise has been the biggest booster of both my mental and physical health.
My approach to exercising has changed drastically over the years. I started with a strong motivation and some aspirational goals - to become more fit, to raise VO2 max, run faster, swim longer. I even dreamed of doing a marathon/ironman one day.
I did make some good progress: my VO2 max raised from 32-ish to 54-ish, I finished an Olympic-distance triathlon (~6 miles of running, ~1 mile of swimming and ~23 miles of biking, which is about 1/4 of an ironman), ran a half marathon, and almost completed an Alcatraz-crossing swim.
The joy of achieving something new kept me going for a while, but as time went by, those aspirations have diminished. I no longer find the time and energy for training, especially with added family responsibility. (Watching a toddler all day is surprisingly both physically and mentally exhausting! I personally know of two coworkers at Facebook who completed many Ironmans while having a family and being an engineer director at Facebook. They have my deepest respect).
Now, here is what I am able to sustainably do, at the age of 33 with a 2 yr old girl:
20-40 minutes of exercise each time.
Exercise 4-6 times a week.
Do aerobic exercises with a heart rate around 60-80% Max-heart-rate (which is around 130-155 for me). Aerobic exercises usually being one of swimming, running/trail-running), biking.
I now exercise with a much softer intention - no particular objective to achieve, not trying to run faster or swim longer, the only intention is to stay present, feel the body, enjoy the moment, and if I have the energy, gradually improve my posture & technique.
I’d still like to accomplish an Alcatraz crossing swim, a half ironman, or a marathon one day, perhaps when my kids get older.
Lastly, sharing some interesting and inspiring persons that I learned along the way:
Ed Baker - Who was once a VP of Product at Uber, quit his tech job and became a professional athlete. Completing an Ironman in under 8.5 hrs is no joke.
James Lawrence - Who completed 50 Ironmans in 50 states, in 50 days.
