A quick swim, sauna and steam...
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 10:00AM I've been going to the local hotel leisure centre for the past year or so, trying to keep the inevitable middle age spread at bay (too much information?). I'm usually an early riser so I'm out and back in again to start work at 9am.
Can't say that I've really enjoyed it, I never was a great fan of physical activity, and I've kept my regime to a session on the treadmill, some crunches and a swim. The problem with the gym and especially the treadmill is its just so boring, so invariably, I'd take along my iPhone and listen to some podcasts.
Always something new and stimulating to hear.
However, with being stuck in front of the Mac all day, it's really difficult to completely detach and just think, especially with the distractions of emails, tweets and RSS feeds. I really needed a complete break from all inputs.
So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to forget the Gym and just have a swim, sauna and steam in the morning and give up on listening to podcasts whilst pounding the treadmill, to give myself a break.
What a revelation!
I now find that the morning swimming session is fantastic for clearing my mind and just thinking.
No distractions, no information overload, just some quality time to ponder on various things.
A case in point was this morning. I'm just about to start recording this weeks show which is likely to be "technically challenging" as it's the one where I'm hoping to explain my way through the introduction of the new Mac into the production environment. It's likely to contain a bit more advanced info and concepts than usual, and it's also one where I'm likely to use more on screen graphics, etc. So during my swimming session, I was able to think long and hard about certain aspects and came up with some great ideas on how I might tackle them. I came away feeling refreshed and really ready to tackle this weeks show.
So I think I may abandon the gym and just stick with a swim, a sauna and a steam each morning, to give me some quality thinking time. It may not be as physically beneficial as a workout in the gym, but I think it's just as important to give your brain some space to workout too.
Reader Comments (10)
Very good Don - I do that with weekly/bi-weekly photography outings by myself or with my Dad. Just leaves me some time to get away from all the information on the internet and become closer to nature =)
I do agree with you Don.
Personally I go walking / hiking on Saturdays ( around 20 Km, in summer up to 50 Km ) and I am really enjoying it. For me it is the perfect opportunity to take pictures, look at landscapes, clear my mind, think about nothing at all :-)
The funny thing is that I happen to get the brightest ideas during these long walks. So lately I've been taking pencil and paper with me to write those ideas on a piece of paper.
Regards,
Stefaan
Excellent! Swimming Iis great exercise and much less stressful on the joints and body than running. Besides, mental health is the most important of all!
Don,
You are right. A good way to start the day is to try and get away from the routine day to day activities.
I used to use my long commute as a way to clear the mind for the day ahead but my commute is now much shorter. I now cycle into the office and this seems to having the same effect.
Regards
Steve
Don,
Sometimes it's nice to unplug and get away from it all. Been trying to come up with a good method myself here.
Don don't give up on the physical activity you'll regret it in the long run.
Regards
Peter
Don can't w8 for the new show.
Cheers,
Ali
Know what you mean Don.
I've been going to the Gym for a few years now, started off every day, then 3 times a week...
I'm at the stage now where I don't even want to go at all now it's just got so boring.
There is a pool with Sauna etc there so I think I'll give your strategy a go for a while and see if I can start enjoying it once more.
cheers.
Hey Don,
Do the gym thing at least once a week on top of your swimming. The other way I work it is to increase the intensity and reduce the time. The added bonus there is you increase your fitness (rather than maintaining it) making the swimming even more enjoyable.
cheers
Don, agree and I say a healthy mind is 90% of it. If you don't like the hamster feeling (Can't say I ever did) try getting out for a walk. What I would suggest is find something you can listen to other than a PodCast as this just keeps you thinking about work. Maybe an Audio book or some upbeat tunes. I experimented for a couple of weeks and found by listening to Meatloaf, ACDC, etc I actually increased my pace quite a bit.
That said I always fall back on what my Grandad used to say, "The problem with healthy people is, they are never quite sure what they died of!"