Bea Loozer
There are two schools of thought on the issue of whether to follow a strict routine or decide each day how you should work out. I know which one I buy into.
I vote for routine. If I had to decide on a daily basis whether I should go to the pool, the mere act of thinking about it would make me delay or just not do it. I prefer the “just do it” approach. So I blindly pull on that suit, slather up and head over to the pool. Once there, I do a standard routine that has a good variety of stretches, aerobics and stepping. Eight of this, 20 of that, and 10 times across the pool. Routine, yes.
The polar opposite is deciding on a daily basis which venue to use, which machines to use, which exercises, whether to play golf or tennis, etc. Or even whether to get out of bed.
Of course, there are options in between. I could stay with my inclination toward the routine way of exercising but opt to routinely do the pool approach on four days and join an exercise group the other three days. Considering my predictable approach, you probably wouldn’t be surprised if I were to decide ahead of time which days to use the pool and likewise, I’d probably go to the exercise group on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And consider that it might be a good idea to vary one’s workout daily.
My routine approach might sound boring, but that daily workout is incredibly stimulating. The choice is yours.
One more thought on the pool. Years ago I used one pool but have been using a different one for several years. With my current pool under repair, I went back to my previous pool. What a treat it has been to see some of my old friends still doing their pool routines. But there was also a woman I didn’t recognize, even after chatting with her several times. After she told me she had been walking in the pool at the same hour for 17 years, I paused. How could that be? She had been walking at the same time in the same pool in which I was doing water aerobics for years? Then it dawned on me. My new friend Vicki was the woman who walked at the shallow end of the pool while my group worked together on water aerobics — the woman I didn’t know but recognized as “the pretty woman.” Vicki is still pretty in her mid 80s and that 17 years of steady pool walking has served her very well indeed.
Don’t stop to think about it; just get up and join us on Saturday mornings for support, motivation, information and friendship. Weigh-in is between 7:00-7:45 a.m. in the Mirror Room of Sun Lakes Country Club. The meeting starts after weigh-in next door in the Friendship Room. Contact Rita at 895-2559 for more information.