Fitness with Fibro
Sophie tells us how doing the Couch to 5k has changed her life.
Date: 25 June 2020 Author: Energise Me
It doesn't matter how passionate we are about physical activity and sport. There are likely to be times in our lives when we struggle to be active. A curve-ball like an injury can throw a regular routine and force us to find new ways to move.
Our Chief Executive Julie Amies shares her experience.
I LOVE squash. I LOVE to play squash, watch squash, mark squash. So the last year has been a challenge for me because I have been injured.
I was playing in a box league match at my club and my knee started to tighten up. There was no twist, trip or fall, just a gradual onset of stiffness. I was going to train with a teammate/friend after the match but between her sore elbow and my sore knee we did what any sensible people would and retired to the bar for a drink and a catch-up.
Well, squash is very social too! Like really social. The Hampshire League Rules say “The home team is expected to provide suitable refreshments after the match. The visiting team is expected to remain for the post-match hospitality”. It’s a great rule and post-match meals have been just one of the things that I have missed over the last year. It’s a really sociable part of the evening, the competition is over and it’s time to enjoy good company, food and a drink.
My knee didn’t recover and squash had to be put on hold. I did stay in touch with my squash friends, watching them play their matches, cheering them on, offering encouragement and occasional tips and sometimes marking games. Staying in touch maintains the connections and helps to keep you motivated to recover to get back to what you like doing best.
My colleague Sara played an important role in keeping me active at this time. She encouraged me to go along to the spin class that she enjoyed.
Primarily to help my knee recover and get back on a squash court, I’ve taken part in spin classes, gravity classes (“a low impact, safe form of body-weight resistance training, ideal if you are recovering from injury or you haven’t exercised for a while”), Bosu (a piece of equipment that can be used in 2 ways, blue side for lower limb and ankle stability or black side for core and hip stability, I went for the blue side) as well as lower limb physio classes. I have enjoyed all these sessions but I haven’t LOVED them. No offence to all the instructors and physios! I have walked LOADS.
My colleague Sara played an important role in keeping me active at this time. She encouraged me to go along to the spin class that she enjoyed. This reinforced to me how important the instructor is. We both really like Dylan’s encouraging and informative approach. She also encouraged a bunch of us to try BOSU and this led to me finding out about Gravity through a notice in the changing room. A chat with Natasha the instructor gave me confidence that I would be in safe hands with my injury and that the activity would help with my rehab.
I spent my first 50 minutes on a squash court in a year. I was encouraged by the fact that I could still hit the ball, I was able to move around the court and it felt good.
A couple of weeks ago, we held a staff development session at the squash club. I stayed on to do some quiet work in familiar surroundings. As I left to go home, I bumped into Alex, one of our squash coaches. Serendipity! Had I been subconsciously trying to create this opportunity? I immediately asked Alex if we could book a coaching session to see how my knee might react. Again, I knew I would be in good hands, he would listen to where I felt I was at in my recovery, that we would need to test and see how we went. If necessary, I could stop.
Yesterday, I spent my first 50 minutes on a squash court in a year. I was encouraged by the fact that I could still hit the ball, I was able to move around the court and it felt good. Experience told me that today I would feel the aches and pains but these are nothing in relation to the ones I will feel tomorrow. But I don’t mind, it will be the sort of pain that will make me grimace when I stand up but smile when I get moving because I am back on a squash court. I am ready for my next squash session. Did I mention that I LOVE squash?
Right after I got home from my training session, the energy levels were high and I decided to write this blog. Was that the endorphins? I certainly felt great. I remembered a quote that has stuck with me from an Olympic Gold Medal hockey player who is now Head of Futsal, Para and Women’s Performance at the FA, David Faulkner:
“Playing the game is good, winning the game is better, loving the game is best”.
Loving the game is why I will keep trying to stay active.
Paddel and Racketball are pretty cool too!
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