Why you should revisit your childhood

Have you ever taken a moment to watch children in a playground?

They run around with sheer delight, curiously exploring their environment. They hang from bars, climb on things, crawl through tunnels, swing through the air, slide, tumble, fall, balance and never stop to question if their bodies can do it.

Sometimes it creates a yearning to revisit your childhood.

When a playground was happiness!

Think back to when you were a child, when a playground was happiness and exercise was something you did automatically. Now think about your life as an adult, when was the last time you sat on a swing, climbed a pole or walked on a balance beam?

When did life become so serious that we stopped all the fun, and exercise became this dreaded thing that we just had to do.

I know this may not be true for everyone but I am pretty sure a large percentage of you will relate to that statement.

Make exercise a non negotiable

I don’t enjoy exercising. You may have heard me say this before. I enjoy the fact that I have exercised; I just don’t enjoy doing it. That said, exercising everyday is one of my life’s non negotiables. There is no way I can turn my back on the irrefutable scientific evidence that exercise is a MUST to maintain a healthy body.

So I keep trying to think about different ways to exercise and I have discovered that a playground can inject a bit of joy into my workouts. Even better, as a mature adult, exercising in a playground is vital to my health!

Why a playground is vital to your health!

As we age the one thing we lose is our ability to balance and to remain flexible. Years of sitting down, hunched over the computer or slumped in our lounge chairs have created a less than optimal body for health.

Did you know that to simply walk you need to be able to balance on one leg. Think about it. When you walk, one leg has to come off the ground to be put in front of the other and that requires core strength, flexibility and balance.

Older people shuffle because they have lost the confidence and ability to balance on one leg.

That’s why heading to the playground and revisiting your childhood is paramount to your health.

At least twice a week I head on down to my local playground and this is what I get up to:

Playground workout

One set of 12 box jumps followed immediately by one set of 12 push ups. I rest for a couple of minutes and then repeat two more times.

I then do one set of single leg squats followed immediately by one set of 12 pull ups.

Whilst I am resting I walk along the balance beam to work my core muscles and practice my balancing. I was so embarrassed the first time I tried to walk along this beam. I kept falling off every two steps; that’s how poor my balance had become. I am proud to day I am a bit of a pro now and could hold my own with any child – just say’n!

Lastly I finish off with three sets of 15 tricep dips and some ab work. Then I treat myself to a bit of fun.

My hot tip is to go early in the morning when all the parents with kids are still asleep and you have the playground all to yourself.

Health and happiness go hand in hand

It pretty hard to remain happy when you are sick all the time or your body keeps letting you down.

That’s why you need to do everything in your control to keep healthy.

So this week revisit your childhood and head on out to your nearest playground to exercise.

You never know you might even enjoy it!

Be happy, colour the world.

Claire