With the catchy workout mantra “It’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna be difficult, but we gonna run, we gonna keep moving…”, the avid runner became a viral sensation.
About me
- I’m a fitness enthusiast, husband, father, and an ordinary man who hopes to do the Ironman triathlon one day. I’m also the founder of Better Your Next, a fitness motivational organisation.
- I am a cyclist and a man who squeezes in exercise whenever I can. I believe fitness is accessible to everyone, even the person who thinks they don’t have the time.
- Your health is your wealth. Better Your Next came from the idea of talking to yourself positively and knowing that, although hardships will be there, we keep going.
Coming up with the slogan
- I don’t rehearse these things; I don’t have a script. It’s just something that came to mind that I often say. It was just me speaking out loud.
- When I face hardship, I tend to think positively and say positive words, so I guess that was one of them.
- If you go to my social-media pages (@betteryournext_za) you will find many of them. It’s a way for me to encourage myself.
- I think this one went viral because I was also singing a song by a very popular Tsonga artist.
My fitness journey
- I’m a runner, cyclist, and swimmer. Running is my first love because it’s the first thing that was accessible to me. With cycling, you need a bike, and with swimming, you need a swimming pool. As much as you need shoes for running, there are also barefoot runners out there.
- I cycle a lot now. I’m going to participate in the 947 Ride Joburg on 26 October.
- I’m still working on swimming in order to get to a competitive level for Ironman.
Running benefits
- When you go out there, you get to be in your own mind and clear your thoughts of toxicity.
- Running helps a lot for fitness goals such as weight loss, and you don’t need to have a gym membership in order to exercise.
- The third aspect is community. It’s accessible, so it means your neighbour or someone on the street could be running, and it becomes a social affair.
Diet tips for runners
- Keep your diet basic. Home-cooked meals help with your fitness goals and making it a little bit easier. That’s a formula that has been working and there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Beginner’s guide to running shoes
- If you are trying to get into running, walk into a Sportsmans Warehouse, tell them you want to start running, and ask for a gait analysis.
- They will put you on a treadmill and check what type of runner you are, if you are neutral or strike on the left or right foot. Once they figure that out, they will show you which shoe — and it doesn’t need to be an expensive one — is right for you to avoid injuries and make the journey smoother.
Biggest mistakes
- The biggest mistake people make is to go for those expensive shoes because they think about better speed or they look fancier than others, only to find that it’s not the correct type of shoe for their running style and they end up getting injured. To avoid injuries, you have to do the right thing before you think about the colour or aesthetic.
- The biggest mistake runners make is focusing on time and kilometres. The main thing is to keep on keeping on. If you show up day in and day out, the results will come.
- Don’t focus on the running apps. You can go out now and speed up and then show it to your friends and your fans, but if you don’t show up tomorrow and the day after, you’re literally doing a yo-yo.
- Focus on functional training as well: squats, lunges, strength training, and conditioning. That will help you. And it’s going to be hard.
