There are lots of different ways by which we measure our success in weight loss. There are the obvious ones like what the scales and tape measure say, and how we look and feel. But there are often other changes that we haven't thought of, which suddenly hit us like the coyote's anvil.
For me it's stretching after exercise. Now stretching is one of those new-fangled things that didn't exist when I was a teenager playing sport. A quick jog before netball for a warm-up was about it - no stretching or cooling down.
My son was in the lounge the other day when I was stretching after my walk. I have to say this isn't a glamorous look for me. And my quad stretch is somewhat unusual. I cannot stand on one leg and hold the other foot up by my bum - my lack of suppleness and ungainly shape have prevented this pose for years. Instead I sort of reverse up to the side of the sofa and hook my foot over the arm of said sofa.
Anyway, Jake said to me 'Why don't you do it like this?' and executed a perfect quad stretch.
Time for a small digression. Some of you may have gathered from my earlier posts that Jake is quite sporty. WRONG! He is a complete jock. He is 16, six foot one and about 85kg. His main sports are rugby, underwater hockey, waterpolo, touch rugby and lawn bowls (spot the odd one out!). His secondary sports are cricket, dragon boating, middle distance running, cross country and anything else where they need him to make up the team and he gets time off school. Digression ends.
So, after he asked me why I stretched that way, I explained it very politely (!). That's cool, he gets it. And he came up with an alternative stretch for me that worked better than my bodgy method.
This morning, after my home circuit workout, I thought I'd try the traditional one-legged stance quad stretch. AND I DID IT! How's that for progress? Can't wait to show Jake - he'll probably laugh his arse off. The supportive teenager thing only goes so far.
What a great new way to measure my progress. I feel very sporty. Now, if I could just get this damn anvil off my head...
8 comments:
Hi Sue
Thanks for your well wishes on my blog.
You're doing great with your weight loss. Congratulations!
It is lovely to hear of a teenager who is even slightly interested in his Mum though!
hehe, what are stretches? I'm naughty, i dont stretch!
Hehe, great post Sue! Jake sounds like a good kid and how awesome to be able to do something that you haven't been able to do for a while. Good going :-)
LOL at your son. And a great realisation that there are other things we can measure to show our improvement. Like better skin, less hair falling out, being able to reach up to the top shelf without doing a hammy, the quick sprint to the phone and still being able to talk. All great.
Great post Sue. Thanks.. Have a fantastic day :)
Well done, this is obviously a great achievement, so you should be pleased with yourself. And doesn't your son sound lovely, so nice of him to help you out with your stretching.
Isn't it great that you have your family members supporting you and giving you suggestions - I love the support I get from my family - it just makes the journey that much more bearable !
Take care and have a great day !
Me
What's the other version of the stretch that he showed you? I do the couch thing too ... And would love something a little less "silly" ...
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