Health and Fitness

Tweet

It's May, it's May.  What to do today?  Blog Every Day In May, of course!

Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

I wouldn't call this a huge struggle, but it is something I find difficult.  I've never been the fittest person in the world.  I'm not a particularly active person.  I'm better than I was, but still you will normally find me sitting on the sofa, watching something on Netflix.

I joined the gym about two years ago with my mum.  We usually go three times per week; Monday for Pilates, Wednesday for swimming, and Friday for a workout in the gym with the treadmill, cross-trainer, and weight machines.  I do enjoy it, but sometimes it's difficult to find the umph to get up and go.

I'd wanted to join a gym for a while, but I was worried that it would be full of beefcakes, pumping iron, and running around at a hundred miles per hour.  How wrong I was.  Don't get me wrong, there are a few people who like to pose in front of the mirror, admiring their muscles, but the majority of the people I've come into contact with are (what I call) normal people who just want to get fit.

I've always been slim, so my struggle isn't with losing weight.  It's with getting healthier and fitter.  As some of you already know, I have a little dog, Lily.  I got her when she was about three months old, and puppies have a lot of energy.  Whenever I took her for a walk along the beach, she would be running all over the place, and I would be getting out of breath trying to keep up with her.  All those years of sitting around at home and using the car whenever I went out had clearly affected my body more than I had realised.  It was worrying that someone in her mid 20s couldn't even take her dog for a walk without wanting to keel over!

I'm also a bit of a snacker.  And not a healthy one.  I love crisps and chocolate.  I also used to eat a helluva lot of bread (toast being one of my favourite meals!).  About six months ago or so, I took a long, hard look at my eating habits and decided to cut out a lot of bad food.  The biggest thing to go was the bread!!  Every now and then I see a delicious looking sandwich, but I resist the temptation.  I've also replaced some (not all) chocolate with fruit, as well as cutting out Diet Coke completely.  I'm filling myself up on a lot of salad and water.  But I'm still not eating as well as I would like to.  Cakes are just far too tasty!

I have to say that I am slightly fitter than I used to be, and I do make more of an effort to use my body to move around rather than using technology.  Since starting work at the library, I will only use the stairs if I have a trolley of books with me.  Otherwise I will climb the three flights of stairs to the staff room.  I do get out of breath, but I'm going to keep at it.

Apart from strengthening my heart and lungs, I've also wanted to improve my flexibility.  I don't particularly want to be able to fold myself up and put myself in a box.  I'd just quite like to be able to touch my toes!

http://pirotesse.deviantart.com/art/Contortionist-28439304

Doing Pliates has helped slightly, but my fingertips are still a few inches from the ground.  To make matters worse, my dad had arthritis in both hips and he can touch his toes!  I always put it down to the fact that as my legs are so long, my toes are a very long way away and it's not easy to touch things that are a long way away!

So slowly slowly I am eating healthier and exercising more, but it is a struggle to get my body to do what I would like it to do.  I guess I just have to persevere and remember that two years ago I got out of breath just putting my shoes on!