Actor/writer/director/producer and newly minted runner Lena Dunham recently spoke to espnW about her relationship with exercise, and let's just say it is much healthier than any relationship her Girls character Hannah Horvath has had with a man (at least so far). Always one to tell it like it is, Lena dispersed some serious seeds of wisdom — and also set the record straight on one fitness lie.
Truth 1: With the right attitude, exercise can feel amazing. 'Endorphins are real. You run with someone for an hour, you feel pretty good. Running for an hour does not make you feel worse.'
Truth 2: Exercise can empower you well beyond your regularly scheduled workouts. 'Last week I had to run because I was late and I used my principles and I just ran down the street and it felt nice. To run with this increased confidence and the sense that I could actually use my body to get places, that was a pretty big revelation considering I've already been alive for almost three decades.'
Truth 3: Weight loss isn't the only reason people exercise. 'As a younger person ... I was like, 'I love my body and I feel good about who I am, so I don't need to fucking exercise.' I didn't understand that it's about so much more.'
'You have to move so you don't die. You have to move so your brain doesn't atrophy. You have to move so that you look a little bit like a person that you might want to be.'
Truth 4: Moving your body benefits your brain — big time. 'I have to remind myself that when you exercise, there is a natural calm that comes from knowing that you did something with your body that day. Actually going and working out makes everything else easier and better ... I value my health and my happiness. And I've realized exercise can give me both of those things.'
Truth 5: Exercise helps you focus on what your body can do instead of harping on what it looks like.'Our superficial quibbles with our bodies lessen because we realize what our bodies can do for us. My relationship to eating, my relationship to critiquing my own shape, all of that has changed since I've started viewing my body much more as a tool to do my work.'
Truth 6: Scales are stupid. 'I went through a phase where it was like, one pound up and my day was horrible; two pounds down and I was queen of the world. It was just a ridiculous code. ... There is no reason why you ever need to be getting a scale or measuring your value by a scale.'
LIE: Every runner aspires to race. 'Friends are saying, 'You should do a triathlon!' And I'm like, 'How do you say, hell fucking no in Spanish?' That's just not gonna happen.'
From: ELLE.com
