The ‘feel goods’ that we all enjoy have been hammered by Covid19. Going out for a drink or a meal with family and friends, going away within NZ or abroad, or watching or participating in sport or arts and culture events.
I love my sport, both watching and participating, and it’s always been my stress reliever and mental health medicine. Being active is very important to me, whether it be going to the gym, surfing or mountain biking.
All three were put on hold indefinitely and I had to adapt for five weeks. I got pretty desperate. On one occasion my 11-year-old daughter and I put the surfboard in the swimming pool and ran full noise and leapt on to the board for a man-made wave.
I converted my workshop shed into a workout shed, armed with kettle bells, medicine ball and skipping ropes, while we mowed a 400 metre running track in our paddock.
Mountain biking provided some real confusion for many. In Level 4 we were able to ride some of the trails on Te Mata Peak, but by Level 3 this was scaled back to one uphill track and the main road.
I also decided to improve my flexibility during lockdown. I’m close to hitting 50 and the body isn’t as supple as it once was. A squat is probably as deep as a sitting on a chair and the shoulders don’t stretch like they once did.
I found Madfit on You Tube and most mornings before sitting down at the home office I would spend half an hour doing a flexibility class.
Just like me, I am sure many of you will have improvised and found new ways to keep the weight down – something that was incredibly hard with the many cakes, scones and biscuits that were baked by the four children also stuck at home.
So what changes now? My fitness and active recreation routine is getting back to the new normal, the surf has been great, and I can explore more trails on the bike.
The missing part is watching sport. I’m over rugby replays and sport talk-back shows. I can’t wait for the local club rugby season to start as well, and to go and watch the girls play hockey and netball.
I just hope that the 100 people quota system doesn’t get in the way. We all might have to go into a draw to attend sport fixtures … and I’m not the luckiest person in the world when it comes to lottery draws or raffles.
Let’s hope the good ‘ol days return shortly.