Don't panic - it's not all about extreme challenges and sports. Just because my mouth runs away with me and I come out with ridiculous plans (for a woman of my age and size) to start abseiling down cliffs or throwing myself off high rocks into cold water. It doesn't mean that this is my way of getting fit. It might be for some people of course. But for me in real life (and when I am not being terrified by my own challenges), fitness is about doing things that you enjoy.
I understand totally that this may be going into a gym for some people, but that doesn't do it for me. I can understand that it may be about running, or spinning (full on exercise bike class!!), but that isn't me either. In my effort to get fitter I do need to challenge myself but on a slow road from total oblivion to fitness it has to start with things that I can manage. For me that meant walking to the end of the road and back if that was all I could manage. It meant starting with the wonderful and health giving Qi Gong, gentle Chinese health exercises which changed the stagnant energy in my body and broke the total inertia. Once I had been doing Qi Gong for a few months I was able to start pilates. That has gradually increased my muscle strength and enabled me after another few months to start walking further distances.
The next question was how to walk those increased distances without feeling like either a) I was exercising or b) I was moaning. Simple, find a hobby that goes with the walking and takes your mind off distance travelled. Now, I can appreciate the scenery and I love being out in it, but sometimes I need a little extra to keep me motivated. Well, I have combined several hobbies that work a treat.
Firstly, I got a camera. Its ok, I am not going to get technical about this, I still use it on Autofocus. But it is so much fun to record the beauty that is around me. I expect I will get into a little more of the technical stuff later on, but I am slightly lacking the logic gene so maybe not! I have also been shown some wonderful Photoshop techniques and that is great for taking pictures with a view to making up wacky posters when you get home and don't know what to do with yourself for an evening. (I am afraid I don't have the patience for TV. I am currently trying to watch Downton Abbey because it is so good but I may have to wait for the dvd's to come out as the adverts drive me mad with boredom.)
I LOVE my camera. I can highly recommend this as an exercising hobby - you need to get out into the world - and that means walking - you just need to get to another place and round another bend to see what comes next - to get the next photo. It helps that lovely husband is into his wildlife photography so I just follow him while he stalks butterflies and birds and I am like a Japanese tourist snapping away behind him.
I then met a friend who introduced me to the wonderful world of geocaching. What is geocaching? Well if you need to have it explained properly then I recommend going to
https://www.geocaching.com/
If you are happy with the gist then here it is. Geocaching involves using a hand held gps (or phone with appropriate app) to navigate your way to set coordinates and upon reaching them find the hidden cache (no not cash as I had to explain to my disappointed 16 year old son who can now of course no longer see the point of it!!) You then log your geocaching name in a little book (or sometimes a tiny piece of paper if it is a micro cache) and when you get home you go on to the website and log your visit to say that you have found a certain cache and you clock up your number of finds.
What is the point I hear you ask? Well to be honest, for me, it is getting me out to places I would not have otherwise got around to visiting. It makes me walk for miles and hours on end rather than just a quick walk that you and your bored hound have done millions of times. There is often a puzzle to solve or multiple coordinates to find clues which lead you to the final destination and the cache. It has a slight competitive edge if you want it to. It can drive you crazy but it is really loads of fun! Exercise with a little twist to take your mind off the miles that your legs are covering just to clock up one more cache thats 'nearby'!!
Find what inspires you and get out there - the world around you is an amazing place enjoy it.
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