Fitness Strategies

Lesson 4: Into the Future

Dogs and Other Activities.

Walking the same route every day might bore you, so why not choose a day or two each week and throw in some extra activities instead of or as well as your walk?

Dog Walking.

Most dogs enjoy a walk or a game with a ball. If you have your own dog, his/her health will benefit from a good walk. It is a bit more difficult to keep a steady pace when walking a dog because of their penchant for stopping to sniff things, but they are good company and their enjoyment is infectious.

Make sure you are in control by putting your dog in an appropriate harness or collar. Don't lead it into temptation... if you know it chases cars, avoid busy streets.

If you don't have a dog, you might borrow one belonging to someone else. Get to know the dog well first, since you will be responsible for its behaviour and for its safety during your walks.

Exercise Videos.

Exercise videos can be useful for wet days. Make sure you get one that suits your level of fitness. Most regular walkers find "beginners'" videos too easy. Reputable teachers include warm-ups and cool-downs in their routines, and will also explain how each exercise benefits muscles.

Aerobics is better done on a sprung floor, and less-challenging routines can be made more lively by making steps into jumps. It might take a few repetitions to learn the terminology, but once you know a pony from a grapevine and a mambo from a knee-heel you shouldn't have much trouble. Try to choose a tape whose presenter you like. A "yapping" voice or annoying manner will seriously impair your fun.

Dancing.

Dancing is another great form of exercise. If you don't have the time for classes, why not put on a favourite CD and enjoy yourself? Relive disco dancing, or try your hand (and feet) at the charleston and the twist. Both these dances are easy to learn, very energetic and come with their own signature tunes. Irish jigs are also wonderful, and you can adapt a great many steps. In "true" Irish dancing the dancers seem to keep their arms to their sides, but you can always raise yours as if you were doing a sword dance. CanCan music is good, and so is solid rock, and anything with a strongly marked waltz or quick-step beat.

If you feel like dancing, push the chairs out of the way and take the floor.

Dancing is good exercise for legs, arms and backs, and has the advantage that you can choose your own pace and steps.

Swimming.

Swimming is very good exercise, but in most places it tends to be seasonal. I prefer river swimming to salt or chlorinated pools, but you should swim only in rivers you know well. Observe safety rules wherever you swim. Swimming is good for arms, legs and back, and for building stamina and breath-control.

Cycling.

Cycling is enjoyable if you have a suitable place to ride. Keep your bicycle well-maintained, and begin with short rides, especially if you haven't ridden for a while. Cycling is good for your legs, but can cause shoulder pain if you sit stiffly. I find it better to use a bicycle that lets me sit more-or-less upright rather than in the more fashionable "racing-bike" stance. Make sure you know the road rules and, if the law requires it, wear a properly fitting helmet.

Gardening and Housework.

Gardening and housework offer plenty of opportunities for exercise, but can also trap you with too many repetitions of the same limited movement. Beware of digging, scrubbing or polishing in the same way for too long. Try to make big movements rather than small ones when you wash windows or polish floors. Beware of twisting your upper body while sweeping or raking leaves. This can cause horrible problems with your back.

General Flexibility.

General flexibility is excellent, and is quite easy to acquire. Most of us stiffen up as we get older. Some of this is inevitable, but some is self inflicted.

As a child, you probably liked to sit on the floor, could rise from a low crouch without a helping hand and frequently bounced up onto your toes in an effort to see over a fence.

Try to regain some of these habits and abilities, but make sure you begin by moving slowly. Learn to kneel again. Lie on the floor and roll over a few times. Get to know the range of movement of which your body is capable.

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