This is the time of year for those dreaded New Year’s resolutions and one that is at the top of many people’s list is getting fit. The credit card comes out and it’s off to the nearest gym.
In January, the treadmills are humming along, the weight machines are going up and down and bodies are strewn all over the floor bending and stretching until every muscle aches. Then February arrives and it’s not so crowded. Definitely more machines available and no more line ups for the “Step Master”. The bloom has gone off the rose.
So what happened? Why have so many of these folks, who were so committed in January to their ‘fitness’ resolution, stopped? I’m sure there are many answers to this confounding question but I think one of them is that it just wasn’t fun.
As kids, we would head out and play. Back then it wasn’t about getting fit, it was being active and learning new things. We’d hook up with friends and go exploring, climb a tree and run as fast as we could across a field while being chased by a herd of cows. Every day was an adventure and we’d learn something new. As adults we seem to have lost the path. Play is looked at as a thing that kids do.
Well, enough is enough. Let’s put the fun back into fitness. Time to learn something new. In 2009 my wife Sue and I took up snowshoeing and have had some incredible days out in Bragg Creek and Kananaskis country. In 2011, at the age of 55, I learned to play netball and in 2012 I took up lacrosse.
On Dec. 31 at the third annual Marathon Quest 250 Run / Walk I met a number of people who were trying some thing for the first time. Magnus, aged 15, completed his first half marathon and Kent his first marathon.
That day, while jogging along the Bow River pathway, I was chatting with my friend Ally. She loves her running and triathlons but she is going to try some new in 2013. She had heard about the Hockey Quest 500 Guinness World Record attempt on Jan. 19 and signed up. The only issue is that she’s never played the game before. So she picked up some gear and for the last couple of months she’s been playing pick-up hockey.
In early December Sue and I went to the World Sledge Hockey Challenge at WinSport at Canadian Olympic Park. We watched the gold medal game between Canada and the United States and I was so impressed with the athletes that I asked Jon Bateman, president of the Calgary Sledge Hockey Association, if I could “give it a go”. On Jan. 9, I’m heading down to the Joan Snyder Arena to play.
Sue is keen to have a go at pickleball and, in the summer, I’m going to give her some tennis coaching. So, whether it’s on your own or with a friend or partner, why not try some new. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let the fun begin.
