I started with 8 ideas for trying new forms of exercise and building up some better habits. As I mentioned in this post I crossed off 4 in the first 2 weeks. High ambitions to be over-achieving hmm?
The Good
I joined a yoga class.
I did cycle and I do cycle.
I walked more.
The Bad
I did do some bending and stretching but not often enough and I haven’t made it into a habit. I am not even sure when the best moment in the day is to do this. I should just stop whining and do it. (It’s easier to say this now when I’ve had a tension headache on and off for a week.)
The Ugly
While I was trying to organize swimming lessons I stopped going swimming.
This is important to realize about myself. Hey I am dealing with things, trying to make them happen, while not actually doing them at all and finding a good reason to delay and delay and get stiff and crave water around me. So, very revealing. When I realised this I did start swimming again.
Moving forward
Keeping doing yoga. I love it. Always have and probably always will.
Keep cycling. There are so many good reasons to do this I can’t even be bothered to list them all. It’s the Netherlands; that is reason enough.
Keep swimming. Swimming badly is better than not swimming at all and I just like being in the water, judging the terrible music they play to entertain us as we swim.
Get my bike serviced. It’s a mess. It works, but the basket is rusty and will fall to pieces any moment now. The saddle is split so it’s a big damp sponge. The chain will break (again) soon. The barrier here is calling the bike place and speaking in Dutch when I don’t know the word for gears. I could just look up the word for gears or ask someone. I could do that.
Swimming lessons will happen but I am currently following two evening classes and a 3rd just feels like way too much (because it is). I could try a weekend. I don’t know. So I’ve shelved it.
The Reality
I am not sporty at all but I do like to be outside and I do enjoy reasonable fitness and strength. I don’t want to join some class or do videos that I know I won’t keep up with, so for me it’s all about life enhancement. I get a lot out of yoga, I enjoy cycling, I like walking enough that I do it as a leisure activity and if I want to relax. I love swimming and being in water. I have an office job so I use the stairs instead of the lift.
I am not going to try to do more than this. If someone invited me to a class I might tag along. However, there are some kinds of shopping I just don’t want to do and I suspect having to buy trainers would be a deal breaker. That has actually been the deal breaker for me in the past. In real life. A friend gave me some trainers that were nice and fit and I didn’t wear them either.
See, I completely forgot about the bending and stretching, again! Possibly because in my head it’s pre-meditation, not exercise. I realise how this sounds but that’s how it goes. It’s partly about the right fit, by which I mean where it fits in my head.
What kind of exercise do you love to do? Do you have to force yourself every time or does it just come naturally? Would the need for trainers put you right off or do you have 6 pairs already?
Kim
Co-founder, The Clean Sheet