When it comes to boosting your fitness you have to be motivated. You have to have a solid reason to put the time and effort into your health and fitness regime, and you need to be organised. These alone are not always enough. I firmly believe that in order to reach your goals you need to be inspired! Following this theme, I thought I’d share some of the people who inspire me.
- Daley Thompson is an English former decathlete who won at the 1980 & 1984 Olympic Games. He was also known for persisting in his sport despite being known to say himself that he wasn't the best. He just kept on going.
- Currently Ashton Eaton, USA is unstoppable in this event. A better all-around athlete can’t be found at the moment. Jessica Ennis-Hill has been the same inspirational figure in the female heptathlon.
- Roger Federer is a well-known Swiss tennis player who has the best all-time natural talent in tennis. He rested his body to fully fit recovery before coming back to win the 2 master tournaments he enrolled in. Comebacks aren’t always easy!
- The Williams sisters have been raising the bar drastically in female tennis from when they first came to the scene about 15 years ago. They are known for generally being more agile, fitter, faster, more athletic, and boasting greater will power to succeed it would seem.
- Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, English, both triathletes. Unbeatable for events that matter most.
- Mo Farah for being at the top so long, winning back to back, being unbeatable. He produces a 1min 48sec last lap on a 10K event which is simply unbelievable.
- Usain Bolt, no explanation needed. When he has an event in GB he trains at Brunel University where my daughter trains during the winter months as there's an indoor 110m straight athletics track and properly equipped massive facility for most athletic sports. Usain has a bent back which keeps him straighter than other athletes when running the bend during for example the 200m.
- Jonathan Albon is an English O.C.R athlete and most underrated athlete of the lot. Unbeatable at brutal adventure events for the past 4/5 years and I expect still for another 3/4 years to come. He moved to the lake district to get better and does a lot of fell running there with other athletes. He does some photography to calm him down I believe. Met him at O.C.R EC, a great guy and certainly an inspiration.
- Messi and Ronaldo, the greatest footballers. It’s unlikely that we will see guys like these in the future. They really do stand out. Messi is particularly known for his natural talent, instinct, and acceleration. Ronaldo is famed for his hunger to be the best, physically and mentally. He is the best example of what one can achieve when you persist. Hardly ever injured, few will last longer in football than Messi.
- I have a weak spot for Dafne Schippers, a female Dutch athlete, famed for the 200m which she often wins and for her skill in the 100m. We saw her in London on the 11th August as we went as a family to watch a number of events and she did very well.
- Maarten van der Weijden, Olympic gold-medal winner in 2008 Beijing for 10km open water swim. What makes this already remarkable achievement even more so is that he had leukemia! He slept 4 years in a tent in NL simulating the air quality he was going to face in Beijing. He stopped the day after he won gold as his mission was completed.
I could go on, there are many athletes like the ones mentioned. All of the above are extremely dedicated and live completely for their sport, doing what makes them tick! I’m also lucky enough to see less famous yet not less valid sources of inspiration in my daily life, particularly with my clients. I have watched people work hard to overcome fears, physical injury and to work hard with such determination to reach their fitness goals that their efforts are often an inspiration to me, as well as humbling.
Who or what inspires you?