Getting Fit Despite the Chaos of Life

Name: Naomi Hoven

Age: 25

Occupation: Student

Location: Holtum, Netherlands

1. What is your fitness story?

My fitness story started seven years ago. At first, my motivation was to get sportier and to look better. Yes, I was this girl that looked at ‘models’ as role models. So, I started running. I had no plan and tried to run a couple of times. Oh man, I couldn’t do it. Every time, I needed to stop after a minute or two.

Bye bye motivation and hello fat. A year later I started again, but this time I had a plan. I started with 30 seconds jogging and 2 minutes walking, times 3. In the beginning it was hard, but I got better and better. After some months, I ran 10 km in an hour and I was really proud of it. Then, I couldn’t do any better. I reached a ceiling. And I stopped again, hello fat.

Last December, I looked for an app to count my steps. I found a treasure, named Argus. Counting steps, challenges and other activities were so motivating for me to go out there and run! I got better again, and I ran 21.5 km for the first time! I had never thought of running a half marathon! I felt like I could do everything. I know my wonderful friends on Argus were one of the reasons I could do this. They have motivated me since the first day I met them on Argus. There were so many moments that I thought of quitting sports, but then I thought of my Argus friends and I felt a new energy to go on. Besides doing sports, I started adapting my daily diet. I felt so much better than all those other years. This feeling opened my eyes! It is not about being slim, but about feeling fit. It took some time before I discovered this, but now I can’t imagine my life without that feeling. All those years, I was struggling with my confidence. I wasn’t fit. Feeling fit, makes you feel good about yourself and the things you do.

2. What is your typical fitness routine?

I do not have much of a routine. Most of the time, I need to workout early in the morning or in the evening. When I wake up early in the morning by chance, I will go out for a run or walk. Otherwise, I will go in the evening. On days when I don’t have to study, I work-out at the most illogical times. One thing that’s certain though, is that I do at least one activity each day.

My dog, Tibo, is a Border Collie and needs a lot of activity. Therefore, we’re each other's companion in activities outside. Every day, I take him with me on a run or long walk, and we both have fun. Another thing I do is go to the fitness center three times a week to do some strength training. Strength training really helps me getting better in running.

So, in a week, I plan to run two times and do strength training three times. I don’t have guidelines for how long I do each of these activities.

3. What motivates you to stay fit?

That feeling I described earlier is what motivates me. Being fit means being confident, not only about how you look, but also in everything you do. I want to retain that feeling forever. Besides that, my friends on Argus are my engine. Whenever I don’t feel like going out for a run, I take a look at what my friends said to me on Argus. I put on my running shoes and go. They are a fantastic motivation for me. I am really thankful for that, and I hope I’m giving them that same motivation. There are also some great people who organize activities like challenges between countries or days on which people need to go out and run (Sunday5k). These are also very motivating to start moving.

4. How do you fit working out in your life?

I do sports whenever I can fit in in, which works well. The evenings are a perfect time to work out and as a student you don’t have to work every day, so it is also possible that I work out sometime during the day. I’ll never know in advance, that keeps it exciting.

Furthermore, I try to integrate walking as much as possible in my daily activities. For example, when I need to get to the train station, which is 6 km from my home, I walk to it.

5. What are your health/fitness plans for the future?

My number one health plan is…. I almost don’t dare to say this. It is quit smoking. Some of the people on Argus know nicotine is my boss and they also know I really want kill it. I’ve read a book the past weeks about why I’m still smoking and I’m now ready to put what I’ve learned into practice. I’m totally ready for that! It’s going to be hard, but nothing will stop me this time. I know my friends on Argus are there for me, even in this journey! And that is fantastic. Furthermore, I want to get better in running. Is it ever good enough? I don’t think so. Humans always want to get better in things before it gets boring. So I’ll keep improving in running.

6. How long have you been using Argus?

I’ve been using Argus for nine months now.

7. What are the top 3 things you track using Argus?

Running, walking and workouts.

8. What advice do you have for new users of Argus?

When you’re new on Argus, you need to look for other people and make friends with them. Firstly, it’s awesome to meet other people from all over the world. I made some really, really good friends and we are always there for each other. We call each other Argus family and I can say, that we really are!

Don’t be scared now, everyone is welcome to join! Secondly, they will be your motivation to do things you’ve only dreamt of. And lastly, you’ll get a lot of inspiration for new things, like healthy food, new sports or other activities like meditating.

The Argus community is full of wonderful and inspiring people embarking on their own unique fitness journey. If you, or someone you know, have a great story to share, we would love to hear from you. Contact us by emailing maggie@azumio.com.