I don’t know about you, but the biggest draw working out has for me is stress. Sure you look better, feel better, ache more… but when I’ve had a hard day and I go to the gym I leave forgetting about that day and feeling great. In the past 6 months I’ve gotten into swimming. In fact, I love swimming. So far My best time is 1 mile (65 laps) in 30 minutes. Now compared to pros this is slow but for the average person it’s not to shabby. I’ve heard from several people that swimming is the best low impact full body workout. Tell that to my left shoulder that is sore from swimming… I will admit though that’s because I was not diligent about stretching, my bad. When you’re in High School you have to stretch in P.E. class or your teacher yells at you. As an adult you have to stretch before working out or your body yells louder and for longer. Lesson learned. I’ve taken a month off from swimming and have been stretching as often as possible specifically focusing on my shoulder. It’s paid off and I’m ready to start again, though slowly, but I’m going to start slow.
Some might ask, and rightly so, why then do I love swimming so much? Because it’s exercise for goldfish. I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage “he has the memory of a goldfish.” In other words, his memory is so bad he forgets things 10 seconds after he says / hears them. This is like me in a pool. I like to count my laps so I can measure my distance and figure out how fast I went in what length of time. As we all do, I take the stress of my day to the gym. When I get in the pool and start going my mind is racing, but not for two long. Here’s typically how it goes…
1… Today was so stressful, this deadline is coming up and I don’t know what to do (lap ends)
2… What was I saying? Ah well, Sam was so ridiculous at work today. It’s so weird how he always (lap ends)
3… I wonder what Bethany and I are going to do tonight. Maybe I’ll make dinner when I get home and we (lap ends)
4… This water feels nice, my eyes are burning, I wish I didn’t lose my goggles, ah well just breath (lap ends)
5… Okay you’re on lap 5, remember 5, hooch is crazy, 5, don’t lose count only a few more strokes, wait was I on 6? (lap ends)
7… Dangit!
It’s hard enough to keep count when all I’m doing is counting let alone when other thoughts invade my workouts. Typically by lap 8 or 10 I’ve given up all hope of having one continuous cohesive thought and I default to counting strokes, breaths and laps. By the end of my workout my mind is clear. Perhaps this can be chalked up to the fact that I’m a male and lack the ability to multi-task. Maybe this isn’t a fix for the world’s stress problems but it works for me and I’m thankful for it. On good multi-tasking days I take each lap,typically 30 seconds, to pray little bit sized prayers for people in my life. I find it refreshing to redeem my time. Reminds me of the scripture
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
Maybe you’re like me and you need an exercise that reduces your brain to that of a gold fish. Might I suggest swimming? Worked for me…
Love,
Bryce
