Beginnings.........

Beginnings are always a very interesting dynamic time - anything can happen, radical choices can be made and beliefs left behind or taken on a new.

Beginnings can be more uncomfortable for some than others. Ever seen (or been) that person clinging to their old ways and habits for fear of change!!

I've enjoyed beginning a new game over the last few months - squash.

It's challenging, exciting, sometimes frustrating, sometimes exhausting!

I like the game and i like the quality and intensity of the physical challenge.

I guess like most games there is a strong mental aspect. It's easy to focus on results only and get caught up in frustration and self criticism. But when pretty much anyone is better than i am to begin with, that would not be a recipe for long term enjoyment and participation!

I'm still very eager to see improvements and points - but it seems the best moments come when i just focus on hitting the ball well, moving well, and smiling!!

This no doubt reflects what many go through with their fitness training. We want it all right now. We don't want to spend time learning to move effectively, develop the necessary qualities and build that all important foundation.

But if you can step back, set yourself some targets, agree and commit to a certain amount of work to achieve them, it's then ok to mentally relax and enjoy the process. In fact you may get there faster and with better results!

I had a different beginning about 3 years ago - i took up gymnastics for the first time! I loved it!

As i'm not going to classes of this anymore what could i share with you about that experience?

Well with a background of movement and fitness i picked up a certain amount of basic stuff reasonably well. This was both good and bad!

It meant when i started to get the hang of how to do something i would then hammer it! I would definitely get overly frustrated at times, and keep practicing things when i was no longer fresh enough to reinforce perfect technique.

I also probably didn't respect the different forces that i was subjecting my body to enough.

So all of this ended up with tendinitis on the back of my right hand / wrist, and at this point, not doing any gymnastic training.

Sometimes you just have to step back and look to the longer term. Having done this you are more likely to be able to enjoy the moment - and that is something we should all have more of!

As Pete Cohen said at our Haywards Heath event recently - "people take themselves far too seriously"!

Steve