As sequined halters and jewelled sandals start popping up with colourful regularity in the current issues of glossy magazines, it's hard to ignore the fact that spring is around the corner. And as the cold winter months slowly fade into memory and the fresh fashions of spring beckon us to bare more, the pressure to get fit starts getting more difficult to shoulder than the weight of the 30-pound barbell at the gym.
If only I'd stayed with my walking/gym/yoga routine that I started before Diwali, you tell yourself, instead of ditching it as soon as my New Year's outfit slid on so easily... But take heart. You're not the only one seeing the error of her ways in the brighter, less forgiving light of spring. More people are stuck in the start-stop-start loop of 'crash' exercising than those who work out on a daily basis. The reason for that is simple: with all our high-intensity-yet-mindlessly-boring gym routines, we've squeezed all the fun out of fitness.
Think back to your growing years. Remember when getting you off the bicycle and back home for breakfast/lunch/dinner, was a veritable tug-of-war between your mother and you? (A quick aside: can you imagine a similar struggle on the stationary bike? Of course not!) Or when, having just mastered the art (or should that be science?) of balancing and moving on roller-skates, you went 'round and 'round the building compound, ignoring all commands to come back and finish that homework right now?
That was not just fun - it was honest-to-goodness exercise too! Little did we realise as we ran around playing cops-and-robbers, tag, expending energy just skipping across the school yard that we were building muscle and burning calories, laying the foundation for a lifetime of health and fitness. Unfortunately, as we grow older, our focus shifts as priorities change, gradually weakening the structure of our personal health. Exercise becomes just another chore to fit into an already busy day. It's little wonder then that the trip to the gym, the yoga class or even 20 minutes of calisthenics are the first to be sacrificed when work deadlines, social engagements and family commitments raise their urgent heads.
We need to go back to where the secret to sustainable fitness lies: in activities that we enjoy, not those we have to put up with. To find out what suits you best, use word association to make a list of five childhood activities that come to mind when you hear the word 'fun'. Then make a list of five activities you enjoy as an adult.