Exercise is fun

Sort of

lovetomtom same but different for September and October was a real humdinger! I have spent the past two months trying to turn exercise into something fun rather than a chore and I’m glad to say I feel I did pretty well.

Cycling on the roads is a huge, scary challenge for me and although it is something I need more practice with, I know I can do it. I wouldn’t completely describe it as a fun activity just yet but I can see the potential is there. I say that’s a win. Walking to and from work was already part of my routine so not too many differences there, other than increasing those walks and being a bit more organised so I was ready and full of beans in the mornings. Of course having a pal walk with me definitely counts as fun.

Speaking of pals, there was one major difference in activity this month that took the form of Aerial classes and I couldn’t have done it without my fabulous friend Ms C. I almost don’t know where to start, I have so much to say. First and most importantly I am so glad I did the classes. Something I can only say now that I’ve finished the term. I was extremely nervous starting out, the unknown can be a powerful thing but having Ms C for company was a huge help. After a class or two my nerves settled down and my energy took a different focus. Without getting too philosophical about my experience I will say I was challenged in ways I wasn’t expecting. Physically I expected to be pushed and oh boy was I pushed. I was often ready to go home after the warm-up and it was evident I was going to need more than five weeks of classes to get anywhere near being physically capable for most of the exercises. What I wasn’t expecting was the struggles with my brain. That part was not fun.

I will be the first to admit I thought I was going to be a little better than I was. In fact, I completely stunk! Only I’m allowed to say that of course, but it’s the truth. The Creation Aerial team were excellent in explaining and demonstrating movements and basic techniques and I really enjoyed how encouraging everyone in the class was to each other, but I needed more. There was such a disconnect between my brain and my body, I felt almost out of control. My brain was trying to cope with new information, trying to understand that for example my foot needed to go one way in order for me to move the other way all while holding myself up on the rope or silks. Sometimes, actually most of the time, it didn’t come together.

It wasn’t always like this. My third class was the most fun. I started to see the benefits of the gruelling warm-ups and was able to do some of the moves I hadn’t managed the week before. Although these were minuscule improvements they were improvements all the same. At one stage in the class I felt like a kid hanging from the silks trying to get anyone’s attention to make sure they saw that I could actually do something! I felt focused and started to understand how to use my body to make a basic climb more than just a scene from a comedy sketch. I left that class on a high, in pain but on a high. I wanted to keep going, to keep working to get to the amazing standards of those around me.

Besides my body and brain, the other thing I didn’t take into account was life. I lost my groove after missing a week due to various things getting in the way and with that I felt I was back to square one. Actually, it was worse. It was worse because I was now at my fifth class and could actually do less than in my first. I felt mechanical and frustrated and with that, as another classmate described it, things had the potential of turning into ‘a downward spiral’ of negativity. Did I have fun? Not all of the time but it was all of my own doing. The mind can be a powerful thing and in trying to be the best at something completely new, I actually missed the point altogether. After all the point was to have fun!

Even though I was completely poo at this, it wasn’t all a complete disaster. I did laugh along the way. Not enough but I definitely learnt a lot in these classes. Most important I learnt I need to loosen up a bit, and not just literally.

If you want to know more about these classes, take a look here.  Of course I have to say a huge thank you to the Creation Aerial team and students who let me take a few snaps while they were busy teaching, learning and laughing!