Fitness Update

I enjoy reading, knitting, crocheting, and doing a number of small tasks that involve little movement, or just mental instead of physical effort. I enjoy doing those things a great deal. Watching the color of yarn fly through my hands, following the plot of a film, making progress on a video game, visiting other worlds on the page is all an enjoyable pursuit for me.

Those activities are not enough, of course. I also enjoy cooking, playing with my dog, and other such activities that require a little more... activity. But I also love moving my body. I like yoga, the good pain of stretching sore or tight muscles. I love swimming, feeling the water envelope my body, and flowing with the waves. I love the rush of a good run, enjoy the triumph of finishing a run in which my legs and feet feel like lead. I'm really enjoying punching and kicking the bag at the boxing gym. But I wouldn't have been able to guess this from my earlier experiences with physcial fitness.

I hated gym. At my elementary school, my gym teacher grades 3-5 had been injured in a prank played on him by students, leaving one of his arms partially paralyzed, so I can understand to an extent his grumpiness, but he used to make fun of my athletic attempts. I am clumsy and a magnet for flying balls and such, so gym class was not always all that much fun. From grades 6-8 my worries were more concerned with changing for gym without showing much skin and avoiding the other students that mercilessly taunted me and shamed me for my lack of coordination. Less students did that in high school, but a couple accused me of such actions as playing volleyball badly to look "cute."

In a lone setting, in which I only have to focus on my own progress and my own skills without an audience, I slowly rediscovered my love of movement, the rush of knowing I can do more with my body than I could last week, last month, last year.

Last week I managed to do 4 half hour boxing work outs, and this week so far I did one yesterday, and a zumba class. Hopefully soon I will see a few inches fall off my waist for my efforts!