The Everyman Olympics

One morning back in February this year...
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Looking around in my tired haze, I could see why I'd tried to avoid cheap hotels of late. The plastic feel of the curtains, the rough bed sheets and rougher toilet paper (cheap hotels always like to punish you for staying in them, usually by providing thin sandpaper wrapped around a cardboard tube and disguising itself as loo role), the cheap hairdryers attached to the wall next to the cheap mirror, UHT milk which may or may not be in date, and signs and notices everywhere; never a sales opportunity missed or an instruction not given.
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It was 5:41am. I'm sat folded over my laptop, hungover and full of heartburn. The memory of last night's 'awakening' vivid in my mind - this time I would make a life change!
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The night before I'd stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing my teeth and trying not to smash my elbow on the shower cubicle. I wished I'd kept my shirt on, the sight of my naked torso causing the alcohol in my bloodstream to start a new chemical reaction in my brain - anger, which poured into my thoughts. How had I let myself get to this? And why hadn't I started my challenge yet?
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Two months before this I'd challenged a friend that we'd have a race to lose a stone, the loser would pay for a slap up meal. Isn't it funny how fat people always think of rewards in terms of food?! I wondered how far my rival in this race had come - while I'd continued eating junk food and avoiding exercise, often with drunken abandon. But this thought would have to wait for now...
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My opponent in this duel was Carl. A man I'd assessed as similar in weight to myself, though to my advantage he's always managed to pack his size onto a body which is a good foot shorter than my own. A gamble then, but one which I felt was stacked in my favour from the beginning.
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As the internet kicked in I thought of my personal attributes, what was it about exercise and dieting that I struggled with? I'd tried both and neither had really taken a hold in my pysche long enough to form a life long habit. Clearly I wasn't the type to take to one form of fitness and stick with it, I needed another angle.
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I picked up my phone from the floor beside the bed and saw that I'd typed one word into an unsent text message before passing out last night. The message simply read 'Olympics'. So I Googled it...
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The birth of The Everyman Olympics
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I looked at the wide array of sports events before me, most of which I'd never tried, some of which I'd never even seen. I thought about my own history of exercise. I thought about how I could marry the merits of the two subjects: I periodically try getting fit through different sports, the Olympics is an event showcasing a variety of different sports, the Olympics lasts just a few weeks , I usually manage just a few weeks doing a sport before before getting bored. I pondered on...
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Then it struck me. If I create one challenge a month, based on an Olympic event, I might stand a chance of achieving fitness, lose the weight, instil a fresh mentality towards exercise and healthy living which will stick with me for life, and more importantly...I'd beat Carl!
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Being an Average Joe I've decided to name this concept The Everyman Olympics.
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Here's how the 'games' will work:

• One challenge to be set every month for a year, based on a different Olympic sport

• Each event to be time restricted to be testing yet realistic - I'll be doing this around my work (my day job involves buckets of travel - 35,000+ miles driving a year - and long days)

This is it, 12 mini challenges to distract me into regular exercise whilst competing against my friend to lose a stone first. My definiative personal guide to sorting my shit out.
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I will update this site to keep you in the loop on the story as it unfolds, and let's be fair - in a way I'm acting as a guinea pig here, this system may well work for many of you!
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So in repayment for my test-dummy services, here's what I'm looking for from your good selves:
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• Suggestions or tips you have on which sports I should base a challenge on
• How I can make the challenges realistic to the real thing and where I might find facilities to use
• Stores where I can get good deals on sports equipment and kit
• Or even if YOU are available to play against me or in some of the team events!

I'm based in the South East of England, though travel all over the UK & Ireland and often abroad too, so wouldn't rule anything out!
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Anyone who helps will be mentioned in the blog (who knows, it may even make a book).
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You can contact me at theeverymanolympian@googlemail.com
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Or follow me on Twitter: @EveryOlympian
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And now available to read: The Everyman Olympics: Re-Galvanised