Inspiring
Overweight 12-Year-Old Runner Is More Inspiring Than Olympians (VIDEO)
Like many, I watch the Olympics in awe of the amazing feats the athletes accomplish with their taut and toned bodies, and I'm inspired to push myself further and reach fitness goals I have set for myself and my family. However, a new Nike commercial featuring an overweight 12-year-old boy from London, Ohio, provides as much, if not more, inspiration.
It's a simple advertisement, but its message is powerful and has gone viral because it moves people so much. In it, the boy named Nathan simply jogs down a road. He's not fast; he's not going to win any races ... at least not yet. But he keeps going. The message from Nike: "Greatness is not beyond his reach, nor is it for any of us.”
Pretty amazing, right? And what a wonderful message for our children to learn -- that everyone can be great physically if we just try. Even if they're not the fastest kid on the soccer field, or they're picked last in gym class every time -- they still can find their own greatness.
My son is doing his first triathlon this Sunday, on his ninth birthday. It's a short one, nothing too extreme, but I'm so excited for him. He plays a host of sports and has gotten more physical over the years. However, truth be told, he'd much rather be playing video games if he could. But having my children be active and learn to love the power of exercise is one of my greatest goals as a parent, so when this opportunity came up, I encouraged him to give it a try.
Training for it has been a bit like pulling teeth at times, and I sometimes question where my encouragement meets pushing him too hard, but I know in the end, when he crosses the finish line, he's going to be proud that he did it, no matter where he finishes. And that will be great.
How do you encourage your children to find their greatness?
Image via YouTube
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Amber Davis-Johnson
That kid is my HERO. Love it!
kaerae
JAFE
This is such a great story. You know what makes me sad? All the people arguing over "who's at fault, Rob or Kristen" and nobody comments on the "real life" wonder. It's truly sad.
YOU GO NATHAN.
Liz
JAFE
There's always a clod who will rain on the parade isn't there?
Don't you think that was a good message Liz?
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Lisa Sneed
Sarah Burgess
Gosh, is that jude law doing the voice over? I'm 99% sure
WONDERFUL VIDEO - makes me feel even more stupid for missing my own workouts.
PonyChaser
Someone tell me how this is about losing weight? Before you answer that, I'd like you to think about something.
Picture a woman who is 5'10, 275 lbs. She has an "apple" shape; definitely has more "curves" than less. There is fat on her body, her stomach, thighs, and butt. Her face is full and round. Dimples sit in cheeks that are puffy, especially when she smiles. She is definitely no VS Model. Are you going to tell her to lose weight? That she isn't eating right? That she needs to 'get off her butt and exercise'?
Go ahead and try it. She just might knock you on your skinny butt, because she's an OLYMPIAN. Meet Sarah Robles, contender for an Olympic Gold Medal for the U.S. in weightlifting. Yeah, she could lift most of the women on this board with one hand tied behind her back.
But put her in a video like this, and she'd get comments like Kaeraes... she's not exercising ENOUGH. She's not eating healthy ENOUGH. Because she doesn't fit some cookie-cutter image of what "fit" is.
Pathetic.
How about we celebrate ALL of us for who we are, regardless of how many rolls we have around our middle?
The other day, a woman told me she was absolutely shocked that someone "my size" could swim as well as I could... as I was getting out of the pool after a quick 500 yd. Because I'm heavy, I shouldn't be able to do that, right? I MUST eat junk. I MUST be sitting on the couch every day, right?
I'm so SICK of the "skinny is healthy" mentality in this country. HEALTHY is healthy. Period.
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