No fitness fanatic, just healthy
I am fitter now than I was a decade ago; probably fitter now than when I was in my mid-to-late thirties, come to think of it. For me exercise has been one of those things that comes in spurts; a few months of intense work outs in a swimming pool, followed by years of sedentary living, only to be followed by another burst of physical activity after I would find myself growing too rotund. Always it has been for short periods of two, three, maximum six months. But since my sojourn in Canada a year or two ago, I have been maintaining a fairly regular exercise regime.
Climate helps keep you fit
It started with being back in a country where the weather is conducive to physical exertion. In the tropics there are days when you wake up in a sweat, go to the shower, walk out and get dressed and leave home in a sweat; all very unpleasant, and even after all this time of living in Asia I still can’t handle the stifling heat and humidity of the hot season followed by the rainy season. So I found myself in Canada with a much cooler climate, and a number of factors came together at once: cool weather, bicycle lanes, me growing more rotund as I was building up an extra layer to keep me warm, and the realization that I could actually buy a bicycle and use it too. So I went out and got a mid-level city/country bike, fitted with the necessary kit, and started bicycling, and walking.
From 1 floor of stairs to 15 kilometers
The university was five kilometers from my apartment, a perfect distance for a short daily workout – bike there, walk back. I got back in shape, managed to overcome the hill that tried to kill me (read about that in this story), and started exploring the area. Soon I was doing 25km trips in an afternoon along the many well-kept bicycle trails in Victoria. I managed to maintain my poundage, even reducing it a bit, and generally was breathing a lot easier after 10 months of physical exertion on a regular basis. I didn’t try any fad diets, and I certainly didn’t try any fad ‘workout’ sessions; they don’t work, or at least, not for me; I can never remain dedicated to them because I hate looking at the same square inch of carpet day in day out when doing push-ups, or the same chipped window pane day in day out when on a step master or whatever the running belts are called. An even better fitness trainer is traveling – over two months in South America I probably walked an average of 25 kilometers per day and had a much healthier diet, resulting in weight loss of around 15 pounds; so you can see that travel is not only healthy for the mind, but also very healthy for the body.
Getting serious about life
The trip to South America, however, lasted only so long, and I have since come back to a tropical country, with the heat and the humidity, and I found myself gaining back the pounds that I had so happily shed only a few months previous. And so, on a really boring Sunday afternoon, after moping around for a couple of weeks, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and headed down 10 floors to the fitness center in the building where I lived. As I mentioned, and will continue to mention, I really do not like places such as these; machines and equipment all meant as torture pieces lined up, but I succumbed to the need for better health, and so started walking, and a week or so later, running. I started slow, walking a half hour, eventually turning that into a half hour of jogging, and then a half hour of walking. It may not sound like a lot, but it certainly brought results – the only downside being bigger calves, and the fact of having to look at the same darn cracked window every day for an hour.
A great view helps
I have since moved to another country, but I have maintained my exercise regime – at first more in reply to a taunt and a dare from a friend to join him for a mini marathon (read about that story here) – but now as a way of getting rid of office stress, enjoying the company of running friends, and more importantly, to get a breath of fresh air and take in some wonderful scenery along the river bank in the Lao PDR capital of Vientiane. In decades past, friends who were seriously into fitness would try to prod me into joining them at the gym “it’s great, you’ll look great, feel great, and once you’ve caught the fitness bug, you won’t feel comfortable unless you’ve spent some time in the gym or at least have broken into a sweat”. The sweat part I can do without any kind of physical exercise, all I have to do is step outside the comfort of my air conditioned room, and I am soaking wet, but perhaps there is a bit of truth in their chatter about not being able to sleep without doing something of a work out, even if only for a few minutes.
It’s your life, do with it as you please
I am not a fitness fanatic, but I try to go jogging and walking at least four or five days per week for an hour or two, covering anywhere from five to fifteen kilometers depending on the day and mood. Do I need the exercise like a junkie needs a fix? I don’t think so. There are still days when the urge to go home after work and just drop onto a sofa is extremely strong, but then I tell myself that I need to maintain my weight for a plethora of reasons. And since I have a really huge sweet tooth, I need to do penance for my sin of sweets gluttony; so in a world where karma seems to corner even the most recalcitrant, I stretch my legs, don a pair of shorts and thin t-shirt, and set off on my early evening constitutional and run. I am trying to entice you to join me, or trying to convert you to the faith of fitness fanatics? Nope, it’s your body, your life, it’s yours to do with as you please, but wouldn’t you feel a lot better in the morning if you didn’t have all that extra weight in front pulling your back out of joint, or breathe easier after three sets of stairs by tossing the cigarette habit? It’s not that difficult; really it isn’t. Instead of taking the car down the road for that small item at the grocery store, walk the half kilometer or even kilometer – it won’t take more than about 10 minutes each way, and those 10 minutes may just save your life, or if not, at least give you a few moments to enjoy the beauty of nature, the trees, the birds, or whatever else might catch your eye as you stroll on your way.
