My journey
Since last year I’ve decided to start physical activity to aim fitness and to help myself in managing my stress. I found interesting the idea of unwinding myself after a stressful day at work. I thought it would be good for me to lift weights in a way of releasing pressure. Especially accumulated pressure during the day. My mental health has always been a priority for me. Because if one’s mental health is miserable the body, actions and even our decisions in our lives will be miserable. I used to be not a very good sport person when doing physical education at school. I found running boring especially at the beginning of the day. But it brough me confidence without realizing it. Handball was at least my favourite. But I wasn’t very keen to physical activity in my teenage years.
But earlier in my childhood when I was at primary school and during my late teenage years, I did extracurricular activities. The only after-school activities I did are Judo and Jujitsu which are martial arts. They’re not just mere self-defences arts in appearance, but they also teach values. Values like self-control, discipline, teamwork, honour and respect. The Olympics Judo competitions inspired me to enrol at a Judo Academy in my childhood village. I later in the future enrolled at a Jujitsu Association to practice quite similar techniques and the same values described above. It really helped me after school days to refresh my mind before going back home at the end of the day with HomeWorks I had to do afterwards.
Physical activity as an adult
I remembered the benefits of physical activity and thought It would be a good idea to take care of my health in general. As I am now a working adult and willing to expand my horizon furthermore. I chose to go to the gym to gain muscle, for body shape change, feeling good and of course gaining confidence. Through my exercise journey I realised it’s more than that. It gives me a reason to wake up in the morning before going to work. Because It drives me more focus mentally in my 9-5 job and my blogging and online business learning adventures. It helps me to be sharper as well with a good quality of sleep recommended by my coach. I had no idea where to start so I decided to take a coach in order to learn to do all the exercises on my own in the future. So now I see him once a month to track my progress. So since a while I go twice a week to the gym with an upper body and lower body program and once a week to the swimming pool to exercise both parts of my body at the same time.
I am aiming fitness both mental and physical as well as focus in all areas of my life by pushing myself. Sometimes like many people I might find excuses for not going exercise depending on many factors people can encounter. But for me the outcome is what matters, which is feeling good after physical activity and making me more focus in all areas of my life. Having a coach is beneficial as well where you can be accompanied and chatting with during moments of break. It’s helpful for mental health as well.
Swimming
Swimming is the best form of physical activity workout as the whole body is moving. It’s beneficial for cardiovascular health as it builds endurance, muscle strength. It’s also stress relieving! This form of physical activity is peaceful as moving in the water is a source of satisfaction for any level. I personally only can do the breaststroke technique. It’s the only technique I’ve learned. I can do in deep waters as well as I can’t touch the deep for endurance. If you pass by London, I really do recommend the London Aquatic Centre. The pool served for 2012 Olympic competitions and it’s 3 meters deep. So you can’t stop swimming during your laps. As I already said I focus on how I’m going to be feeling ounce my laps done.
My exercise recommendation
The plank technique is my favourite exercise and it’s so easy to do it at home. It helps to improve our posture, eases back pain, benefits for core muscle stability. It’s also effective for reducing blood pressure. It works the whole body like swimming but instead of moving you just lay down in a push up position and holding on our feet and hands as long as we can. It’s a resistance exercise involving feet, abs, arms. I usually hold for about 1 minute, but I already held for 3 minutes. So my coach decided to add a 5kg weight to make it harder.
