29 June 2014 11:23 AM
by Heidi Francis-Joy
Session Six - week 3:
Swimming, the Pavilions, Horsham.
3.00pm – 4.oopm
To swim or not to swim - that is the question.
I’m going to be honest. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and I have a new book to read. What do I do? Sit outside with the cat and a footstool in the sun and spend a couple of hours reading or go and do my twenty + lengths? I was very tempted just to sit in the sun. I am sure other people have felt the same.
Exercise is a lot about motivation. I have really enjoyed all my classes, with most excellent teachers, who have encouraged me and taught me a lot. But, it is also about your own choice. Which is why I chose swimming as an option - you can do what you want, when you want.
So I combined my two options today and chose sun and exercise (I left the book behind) and went swimming in the outside ‘˜swirly~swirly’ pool. No strict lengths to do. No scary other more efficient swimmers. Just drifting around and stretching, using all the movement exercises I have been taught in all the classes I have been to. Against the quite strong currents, I may add. Also, do not get too close to the water jets, they are very powerful and the water goes up your nose but the waterfall one is wonderful for massaging your neck and back. I find my shoulders the hardest to relax.
When I finally surfaced, I realised I had been swimming around for an hour, in beautiful sunshine. If only there had been a cocktail waiter and a sun-lounger - it would have been perfect.
Personal Log: End of week 3.
Since I started my journey to Get Active, I can already feel a remarkable difference. Leading a sedentary lifestyle, the symptoms can creep up on you - in a slow, but sure way. It was marked when I had difficulties jumping out of bed in the morning. The newspaper would lie on the doormat, pleading to be recognised and read. The cat would end up with food on his head because I could not bend down to finish off putting the food in his bowl before he started eating. It would take me at least half an hour to be limber enough to clean my teeth without pain. It was pretty pitiful!
Now I am seeing things in a different way.
Sir Squeak gets all his food because I can bend to reach his bowl and chomps away, whilst I peruse the paper, plucked perkily from its resting place. I would rate my improvement in flexibility at 50% - so far!
I have never been good at adhering to strict instruction - ask my old school teachers and bosses! But when I am getting very good advice from tutors who are obviously very experienced, I will take their knowledge onboard and will continue to use it. I like to combine learning and adapt that to what I am comfortable with doing. I’m sitting at the keyboard now and teasing sleepy bits of me. I’m also aware that my desk may be too high, which is causing the tension in my shoulders. There are simple things in life that may cause you problems and as you, reluctantly, get older you must address them.
I am determined to be pro-active rather than re-active.
For the next two weeks, I have Zumba and another session with the perky Gemma - face book link Gym Jam Gems. And for week 5 - Tap dancing. Well you have to really! I will post a picture of me with my hat and cane.
Getting Active has to be fun.
Tags: Heidi Francis-Joy
