Party like we did in the 90ies

Huffing and puffing in the dark whilst waving glow-sticks to "What is Love" is probably one of the must fun memories I'll make on this sporty journey.  The one hour "Clubbercise"  class allowed me to go "full on tomato" without any embarrassment, as the lights-out policy meant that no-one could see that I was falling over my own feet. 

"You are very welcome to join me and my friend for Clubbercise on Wednesday", the message read.  It's only been a couple of hours since I've decided to try different sports and classes, and the old me is still alive and well.  The questions, aimed at working out suitable excuses, flooded my mind straight away.  When is it?  How much?  What do I need to wear/bring?  Who will be there?  And most importantly:  Exactly how hard is it? Because if it is before or after a certain time I cannot possibly make it, and if it's over my budget (i.e. for free) I probably can't afford it this week, and I don't own the right clothing and anyway:  I'M UNFIT SO I JUST CAN'T DO IT.

But luckily I had already publicly committed (read here) to trying stuff out, and so before my type happy fingers could spoil my plans, I replied "Yes".  The questions would be dealt with later.

And so it came that I arrived a couple of days later in the recommended basic leggings, T-Shirt and trainers combo at the local community centre.  Getting out of the car I heard the laughter and chatter of the other Ladies (yes, all Ladies, although I'm sure Men would be very welcome) making their way to the front door.  Another wave of work-out-panic nearly had me close the doors again:  They clearly all know each other.  I'll be the odd one out.  They'll all notice that I don't belong in an exercise class.  But before I could change my mind, a war voice shouted "Hello!  Lovely to see you!  Everyone, this is Anna!"

And with that, I wasn't the odd one out anymore, but walking with the group through the front door.  The £8 (£5 for the class + a one-off payment of £3 for the glow-sticks) were received without any questions or forms to fill in.  Just find a place, make sure you have space to move, and off we go. 

The coach lead a complicated routine of arm waving leg swinging and hip thrusting from the front.  In my most Bridget-Jones attempts to follow her, I managed to be in step approximately 17% of the time - but seen as it was dark and I was right at the back, that did not matter at all. 

My advice if you're planning to attend one of these classes?

1.  Make sure you take water.  It's very hot and sweaty.  

2.  Don't worry about a thing (what to wear, where to stand...).  It's dark.  And I found that everyone was there to work out and have a laugh, and literally no-one cared that I couldn't manage to lift my feet AND know my left from my right at the same time. 

3.  If you are worried that you get out of breath easily, do not be discouraged my friend.  After every 2 or 3 songs, there is a watering & breath catching break.

4.  Concerned that you may not be able to keep up with the intensity or speed?  Again, do not let that stop you. Whilst the coach may jump up and down energetically at the front, no-one will notice if you are merely high stepping or walking in place (or even just waving your arms).  As long as you try to keep moving in some way, you are working.

5.  I was very lucky to have a friend invite me to go along.  But I felt the Ladies were so friendly and welcoming that I'd be confident now to try out a similar class on my own.

6.  Any other reasons not to go?  No?  Didn't think so :-)

The harder you fall, the higher you bounce!

As promised in my first blog, I have started working my way through the alphabet of sports (read about it here).

I understand that the letter “T” is not strictly speaking at the beginning of the alphabet, but seen as trampolining is the only physical activity I haven’t given up on yet, I think it really deserves to be written about first.

In my first memory of a trampoline I must have been about 5 years old. My mum had decided to start exercising and bought herself a little mini trampoline. She must have been very much the mother of her daughter, because her exercise tool soon ended up in our playroom, relegated to being used as a toy. The purple zip-up leg warmers she had bought especially for this very nineties workout didn’t fully catch on either – I never knew why.

30 years later, I found myself in one of the trampoline parks that have popped up everywhere. With a group of friends I scraped together enough money to pay for the only acceptable (i.e. branded) type of trampoline socks and entered the small windowless room for the safety training. After 15 Minutes, now fully aware of all the dangers that may lead to SERIOUS INJURY OR EVEN DEATH, we emerged into a paradise of massive foam bricks, bouncy surfaces and probably a fair amount of kiddy pee.

We had the best time. It worked for me because the size of the venue, the number of different options of what to do next and the noise allowed me to take regular breaks during which I could ponder on my next activity (catch my breath in a non-too-obvious way). However, I guess it wasn’t strictly speaking exercise.

After that day, some of us decided to attend a trampoline HIIT class – same wee-drenched venue, but more squats and fewer smiles. If you are considering attending one of these but are concerned about your fitness levels, I’d suggest taking a friend with you for two reasons: It’s hard work and you may value the encouragement of another sweaty bouncer. And I was violently sick after my first session, so driving myself home afterwards was a tale of woe. It did get better fairly quickly, so if this is something you are considering doing I think you’d be onto a great thing – just be prepared for a couple of really though first sessions.

Once we’d settled in our new home in Suffolk I started looking for a similar venue, and found that the local council-run Gym offered Trampolining classes. In my naivety, I rocked up one sunny Tuesday morning last year, expecting individual trampolines and Ladies wearing neon sweatbands. What I did find instead was a massive trampoline propelling a young man into a backwards somersault. In most subtle way possible I tried to close the door behind me on my way out, but the coach had already spotted me. She smiled warmly, lulling me into a false sense of security, and said “You can leave if you want to, at any time – after you’ve had a go.”

Well.

Not only did I have the best of times, I also came out feeling like a flipping rockstar. After only a few lessons I had progressed to level 5! Only later did I find out that the first four levels mainly consist of landing on your feet and not falling off the trampoline.

A year later I still look forward to my weekly session; despite the grazed knees, bruised elbows and my absolute trump card, the black eye after punching myself in the face during a particularly enthusiastic attempt to land a clean front drop, I still really enjoy it.

My next series may be based on artistic activities that I also tend to not excel at. 1: Photography.

If you are thinking about joining trampolining classes, here is my summary of “sport for the unsporty”:

1. It’s really good fun
2. You get a break after every Minute or so to recover, whilst the next person has a go
3. You don’t need to invest in any specialist equipment or clothing
4. You are a team with the other participants, but everyone works at their own level – you never have to worry that your performance could impact on anyone else. On the other hand, you are never alone
5. You can rock up when you can make it. In our group there are people who attend every week as well as people who make it once a semester
6. Because there is waiting time, you have time to socialise and chat – getting to know the people around you can play a massive part in getting you off the sofa and back into the gym next week!
7. The perhaps only downside: You won’t get super fit super fast. Whilst you work hard when you’re on, there is a lot of waiting time between goes. However, if like me you are battling serious unfitness, this is an ideal class to build your confidence.

First (very slow) steps

I have just been for a run. I know - it's not a sentence you hear me utter very often. Definitely not as often as "I hate running", "I'm rubbish at running" and "I don't see the point of running".

Incidentally, I also went for a run yesterday with a colleague. You probably know the type: She's got it all together, is good at everything and always says the right thing. Despite running the worst time in the history of running apps, I came home truly inspired by the determination of a lady who went from being unable to run in March to someone who coaches and encourages others in June.

As we were running (read: talking), I realised that I might not be the only one ending her runs in tears of frustration. I'm not alone in deleting (and re-downloading) the C25K app. There are others who sweat their socks off, only to be overtaken by an old lady walking her cockapoo. Others who sometimes give up and need to find encouragement from somewhere to re-start again. And again. Oh, and again.

Over the last few weeks my negative attitude towards myself and my relationship with sport has been picked up on several times by people near & dear to me. There may be reasons why I struggle with stuff, but there are far greater reasons worth getting up for in the morning. I realise that my lack of fitness and self-appreciation may be stopping me from making new memories that may be so much better than the old ones.

So I want to set myself a challenge to change that: Over the coming months I am hoping to try out an A - Z of sports and blog about it. If you already do one of the activities listed below and think I could join you, please let me know. Alternatively, if you have been wanting to try one of them but have been waiting for your perfect "try-stuff-out" buddy: Ta-DAAA: your wait is now over. And if you have any suggestion to fill the gaps, please get in touch!
This may end up just giving me a vague incentive for moving more over the next few weeks. I may even find an activity that I truly enjoy. But maybe someone stumbles across this blog on a day when keeping moving seems simply impossible. It's not getting easier, you can't do it, it's too hard, it's just not for you... I hear you. Totally. And yet - no matter how bad you feel about getting up and out, there is no feeling better than coming home afterwards. Keep going!

Update: a month on, you can click on the links below to read about the activities I've done so far... Still quite a few gaps, so do let me k ow if you'd like me to do anything in particular, if you'd like to come along or if you'd like me to accompany you on a sporting adventure :-)


A: Aqua Aerobics
B: Bounce; Box Fit, Badminton
C: Clubbercise, cycling
D: Dance
E: Equestrian
F: Football
G: Gymnastics
H: HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), home exercising
I: Indoor Climbing
J: jogging
K: Kickboxing, Karate
L: lawn bowls
M:
N: Netball
O:Obstacle run
P: Pilates
Q: Quads
R: Running
S: Sea Swimming, Snowboarding
T: Trampolining 
U: Underwater Hockey
V: Volleyball
W: Walking Day 1, Walking Day 2, Walking Day 3, Walking Day 4,summary on walking
X:X-Fit
Y: Yoga
Z: Zumba

Slow runners make fast runners look good. You're welcome. Anna