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With the warm temperatures that we’ve been experiencing lately, we’re easily reminded that summer is almost here again. And that means it’s time once again to turn our thoughts towards summer sports like surfing, wind surfing, boogie boarding, swimming, kayaking, kite boarding, and wake boarding, just to name a few. While some of the hardcore people out there practice these sports all year long no matter what the weather is like, there is definitely an increase in the warm-weather sports with the arrival of summer. I, personally, am a big advocate of enjoying the fresh outdoors and changing up the workout to keep things interesting, not to mention fun. I’m not saying that you should forget your usual gym or home workout; I’m just saying that it’s okay to add a little pizzazz in order to mix things up. It was just last year that I started surfing, and while I’ll admit it got too cold for me to go all year long (I’m a big baby), I am looking forward to getting back out there very soon. As a matter of fact, a couple friends of mine are picking up the sport and I hope to surf with them a lot this year. The water is getting warmer each day and it won’t be long before I can’t hold out any longer! I guess I just don’t want you regular exercisers to get pigeonholed into thinking that a workout is only a workout if you go to a gym. I, myself, was guilty of this limited way of thinking a few years back. I since, however, learned to open up my mind and I since realize that there are plenty of other ways to get a workout in. Believe me, you are missing out on life if you think that each time you workout you have to do the same thing—like running followed by weight-lifting to get in a good workout. By doing so you are excluding all the other avenues like a long walk with a loved one, a nice skate along the board walk, or to really mix things up you can even do something really fun like bike to breakfast on a Sunday morning! This is all coming at you with the intent of reminding you not to forget all the other means of getting in your exercise. If you’re currently doing your cardio workout up in your heart rate zone 3 times a week (for example) along with some type of resistance program, let me tell you that it is alright to switch it up once in a while by exercising at a lower intensity, but for a longer duration. This is the perfect opportunity to work that walk into your schedule! The ocean offers so many opportunities for people of different levels and interests. There are also a lot of great companies out there that offer excellent instruction in many of the water sports available now days. Watch for more info in future issues concerning instruction for many of the sports that interest you. Try and make this year different by attempting something new; something you haven’t yet tried. You’re never too old. Remember the saying, “Mind over matter”? Well, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t really matter, does it?
©Melissa Allen is a certified personal trainer, Blackbelt & fitness consultant, as well as the owner of Optimum Condition— personal fitness training and kickboxing instruction. She is a self-syndicated columnist and a member of the San Diego Press Club and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She welcomes input from her readers, so please contact her with any questions or comments that you may have by calling (619) 252-4993, email her at Opticondit@aol.com, or visit her website at www.optimumcondition.com.
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