A "couple" of sports - Jogging and Tai Chi

Last year I discovered that it's much fun and easier to make not just one sport, but two. The main reason for this discovery is that I get bored very easy, especially if I am supposed to do the exactly same thing over  and over again. The second reason is the "return" point, like I call it and I'm referring to that point after starting a new sport, when you are extremely tempted to give up.

For me the "return" point is at about a month after starting jogging or tennis or any other sport I choose. It is determined by a combination of factors: first of all, if I stick with the plan and I go to gym or I get out to run every other day, after 3 or 4 weeks I start feeling really tired. The first week is great. It's a novelty, I'm strong, I like it, I'm out there doing my best. But by the third week, I start to feel that what was looking simple in the beginning, seems to be getting harder every day.

Second of all, I start feeling pain in my ankles, knees, wrists (if we are talking about a sport like tennis) and start wondering if I am doing it wright, or I will end up hurting my self. So, I start looking for information on how do it right, and besides my physical effort I now have an intellectual one also.

And the last, but not the least important, mentally I start to associate that sport more with work than with pleasure, and this makes me not to look forward with very much enthusiasm on my next session.

So, what do I do for all that? A few years ago I started jogging in the summer. I quit, I started again. I quit again, and started again. I am a very, very stubborn person and I truly believe that saying "Success is falling 7 times and getting up 8". So, last year, in the spring, I started again. But this time I combined jogging with Tai Chi. I don't really remember where I heard of Tai Chi for the first time, but I can tell you it does miracles.

Tai Chi is a very soft type of movement. Essentially is moving meditation, you move continuously but very slow using a set of movements that you can very easily learn from the Internet. What Tai Chi did for me was that it gave me a light sport session to look forward, after finishing the jogging one (I did one day Tai Chi, one day jogging). Also, it gave me time to relax my tired muscles in an active way and it strengthen my ankles, knees and wrists while enhancing equilibrium and concentration.

Don't get me wrong, Tai Chi is not a piece of cake either. Yes, you move very slowly but because you move continuously, it becomes challenging after 10 - 15 minutes if you are a beginner, and you inevitable start to sweat and your knees my start to tremble. It took me two months before Tai Chi transformed from work and, why not admitted, a little bit of frustration, into pure joy. But it's worth while. Between a soft sport and a more dynamic one, I doubled my chances to get it going with both of them for a long time.

This year I'm doing Aikido and Pilates. Martial arts are a passion of mine from childhood, in the category "why do you want to do when you grow up, get a job and have all the money in the world". My answers were "buy a big bag of bubble gum" and "learn martial arts". But about this combination, in the next article.

If you are curios of what Tai Chi looks like, I included some videos below. If you not familiar with this kind of sports, it might look hilarious in the beginning, but believe me when I say it gives you an amazing body, especially if you want to look fit but not to develop your muscles very much. Like yoga, it strengthens your core and enhances flexibility. Most of the movements are also used in martial arts either as warm up, or as actual stances but done quicker. So if you are thinking of doing some kind of martial arts, Tai Chi will also help you with coordination and in learning some basic movements.

Most of the people I know are leaning either towards soft sports like yoga, pilates, Tai Chi, or towards dynamic sport like aerobic, jogging, tennis, kick boxing and so on, depending on their personality. So you might find it hard to combine two of different types because one does not really fit your style. I believe that we evolve by getting out of our comfort zone and trying new things.

If you are a very active person, Tai Chi or yoga will teach your mind to stay still for a second. They will teach you patience, relaxation and they will enhance your concentration at work.
If you are a very calm and still person, a dynamic sport like jogging, aerobic, martial arts will wake up your energy and give you a little boost that will make you see life a little bit different, even if you don't thing you need it.

Just pick a couple of sport you find fit or interesting for you, give yourself the benefit of the doubt and invest two months in this formula and after two months decide if it works for you or not. But not earlier. I am exaggerating here, but with a new sport, and especially if you are not an active person, you will get to hate it, before you will get to like it. So, put two months by default, no matter what (except medical cases, if something happens take a break) and make the decision after you're out of the woods.

Best of luck and keep on moving. If you have a preferred sport and you have already combine two, I would love to hear about it so leave me a comment!

If you jogg, you should pay atttention to your ankles and knees

Like any other sports you might start to practice, jogging will put pressure on your body but especially on your knees and ankles. You may not feel it after your first day, or after the first 3-5 runs, because your muscles will feel harder, but you will sure feel it later.

Very important: Take care of your ankles and knees, if they heart take a break.

There three ways to protect them while you are jogging:
- a proper warm-up
- running the right way
- proper equipment.

And there is a way of taking care of them when you are not running and that is making exercises that strengthen your knees and ankles. The best I found on the Internet and that I use I included below. The first is a short and very simple set of exercises that you can do each morning. I found it on KIM Fitness YouTube channel along with other amazing fitness routines so feel free to check it out and look for other types of exercises you might like.

This is another set of exercises I find really good. It uses an inclined block which you might not have but you can improvise and you find the details in the clip.

I am always looking for more efficient exercises so I will probably update this post so stay in touch. If you have your own cool exercise I would appreciate your contribution to this post, so, please, comment:)

Let loosing weight be the cherry on the cake

I love sport (as you can probably notice I also like to accessories sneakers) and I like to think that when I will be 50 or 60 I will still be open to trying new things as I am now. But just in case, I made a plan:

• at 40 I will learn to ride a bike (well, yes, I no, but I never had the opportunity)
• at 50 I will learn sky diving
• at 60 I will buy my own pair of skates and learn to use them properly
• at 70 I will learn to dance tango (meet some hot (old) guys:)
• at 80 ... maybe it's time to learn chess.

Why? Because I want to make sure I will never see myself as too old to try something like this. Learning new stuff, especially sports can make us feel really weird and embarrassed in the beginning, especially if we are not just some teenagers anymore. But it feels amazing to really pull through it and add another thing you dared to do.

30 to 32 meant for me most of all jogging (combined with Tai Chi and Yoga). From barely trudging my legs for 10 minutes in a raw and convincing myself to put the right leg in front of the left one to easily running 30 minutes without loosing my breath. 

Best jogging experience I ever had has been running in the morning by the seaside, in the sand, with the sun barely rising and the sea breeze on my face. That made all the mornings I felt I couldn't do it worth while. 

Now jogging has become a pleasure, like enjoying a tasty cup of tea in an old temple in Japan. I love jogging in a Sunday morning, at 6.00 a.m. when everybody is still sleeping, the streets are still empty and I can still smell the dew on the grass. I miss running on a mountain trail under the shadow of old trees hearing nothing but the wind. 

When I choose my travel destinations or going somewhere nice I always thing what interesting running routes I could find around there. 

We all know that after 30 our body changes, some of us start putting weight and we rush into jogging, or gym to get reed of it. Like an obligation we have in our calendar for that day. Something we must do and for what we reward ourselves. My advice to you is to find a sport that you enjoy, that you like, that you might get to love one day and I promise you, you will get to look amazing without even thinking about it. 

Practicing sport will become your reward, and loosing weight will be just a secondary effect (and the cherry on the cake).