Fitness campaign report
A while back now – to be honest as I type I can’t remember exactly when – during a WhatsApp chat with my 39 year old daughter, of all things I had cause to mention that I had just amassed forty days’ worth of consecutive “10,000 steps per day” (a “standard” that many fitness gurus and websites recommend as an achievable target for individuals of any age who regard themselves as reasonably healthy and fit).
As someone who is rapidly approaching his 71st birthday and in his youth had prided himself upon his commitment to playing sport and generally taking exercise, I confess that part of my motivation for making said statement was undoubtedly an expectation that my news would prompt a salute, if not a degree of respect and admiration, from my offspring.
Instead, with a degree of relish and tease in her voice, she responded by announcing that she had just completed her 55th consecutive day of passing the self-same milestone.
To be fair, she has a certain right to consider herself an authority in fitness matters. As a young girl and into her teens she had been (shall we say) a “sturdy child” whose growing issues resulted at one stage in her being given a “pass” allowing her not to partake in sport.
Subsequently however, off her own bat, she underwent physiotherapy and then took it up seriously, first playing lacrosse and hockey in her senior years at school and then going on in her twenties to take up netball – she still plays for a club in her county league – and eventually the triathlon (at which she remains a leading exponent in her age group at her local club).
As it happens, rather than admitting defeat and “giving up a hopeless cause”, I am pleased to report that my response since that conversation with my daughter has been – using a phrase from a different sport altogether – “to take a new guard and try to bat on towards a century”.
In which regard I can report that yesterday was my 61st consecutive day of passing 10,000 steps.
As it happens my daughter rang me last night for a chat on matters family and general. She remains the same margin ahead of me in the “consecutive days of 10,000 steps” contest (I did warn her that if she should ever slip up, I would redouble my efforts to press on and pass her record) and we had a hugely positive catch-up.
My current fitness campaign has now been going for about four months.
I watch what I eat, I do my “10,000 steps” and every two or three days I do a “HIIT” (“high intensity interval training”) session of physical jerks with the aid of a mat and a pair of dumbbells I have borrowed from my son.
Shortly before the age of 40 – noticing that my weight had inexplicably risen to 15 stone – I decided to give up dessert as a meal course as a means of combatting middle age spread.
I began my current campaign weighing about 13 and a half stone: yesterday morning I stood on the scales at 11 stone and 10 pounds.
Although I feel much fitter and stronger than when I started, some in my circle have suggested that perhaps I ought to “ease off” somewhat because I am beginning to look underfed and/or frail.
Frankly, I put their comments down to jealousy!
