June 11th, 2023Just Sayin’…

By Donna Kelly
IF YOU see me looking a bit dishevelled, don’t worry, it’s all about my new exercise regime.
Like many over Covid – and yes I know it is still very much here – I kind of gave up. Well, the gym was pretty much shut and when it was open I didn’t really fancy either working out in a mask or working out with people not wearing masks who were puffing a lot.

I did try walking Lake Daylesford and the Glenlyon Reserve quite a few times but
people running the other way always had me reaching for a scarf to cover my mouth.
Germs and all that. Anyway, I mostly gave up.
That is until earlier this year when I decided to buy some smallish, five kilo
weights and do a bit of a DIY home workout. Bit of music, bit of dancing, bit of
weightlifting. And I started to feel better about myself. I guess that’s how it works.
And then I took the next step and found a private trainer. And they are great. I
am not going to tell you who they are because then they might become too busy.
Kyle and I turn up once a week and exercise pretty much non-stop for an hour.
It’s a really great workout. Lots of variation to keep us interested and it’s more about
keeping moving and creating a fitness for all the things you do around the home and
in your life.
So no trying to bench-press 100kg or plank for 30 minutes. There is not a lot of
call for that in my life. But lots of stuff with three to seven kilo weights moving from
hand to hand, or through the legs, or over the head. And it’s a lot of fun. And when
you come to think about it, exercise should be fun.
As school kids we just piled out into the playground at lunchtime, ate as fast as
we could, and then ran around playing chasey or British Bulldog or anything on
the move. Before we got all politically correct we played on the bars, dangled upside
down and swung around and around. And then it was back into the classroom before
we headed home and did it all again in the garden or down the street or in the local
park.
And no-one called it exercise or even incidental exercise, it was just about having
fun and playing. I reckon if someone built an adult-sized playground it would be
overrun with people just wanting to have a bit of fun. And I am not talking about
those pieces of exercise equipment dotted along beachfronts and parks. Just some old
fashioned slides and climbing bars. I know, the lawsuits would be happening within a
minute, but if we didn’t live in such a litigious world I reckon people would be fitter.
Anyway, after a few weeks doing the personal training I decided to take it up
another notch and start reformer Pilates. How long’s that been going on? It’s fun, you
can feel your core strengthening up and you can literally do it lying down. I kid you
not. Again, I am not saying who or where. For the reasons above. And also because I
was specifically told only last week “what is said at Pilates, stays at Pilates” – which is a
bummer because there’s some great goss.
So between the personal training, the Pilates and the continuing home workouts,
I am feeling pretty good each morning. Less groaning and more springing. But that
is in the morning. When the workouts finish, which always seem to coincide with a
trip to the supermarket or greengrocers, I look a bit of a wreck. That’s the dishevelled
part. Bit sweaty (even in winter), red face, messy hair, maybe still panting a bit. That’s
my public face these days. But I will keep on keeping on and maybe one day I will
just come away with a healthy glow.
If you have given up a bit, it’s never too late. I know from experience. Just sayin’.