Physical Fitness & Mental Wellbeing
Nothing like a healthy breakfast to start the day! Plenty of vitamins and nutrients in my cereal with fruit and a healthy splash of semi-skimmed milk especially after a good work out in the gym or pool. Over the past year I have worked hard at my fitness & have built my cardiovascular exercises to develop physical stamina.
Its when I stopped in the run up to the Christmas holidays that you realise the importance of regular exercise discipline. You have to train your body and your mind to start up again and create that mental and physical discipline. You mind will often want to take the easy route and try to dissuade you from getting up or going to the pool or gym for a workout. Exercise is as much to do with the mind as it is the body.
In the summer I decided to embark on a long challenge. I took on a 100 mile swimming challenge with Swim It to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Support. Three months later I completed the challenge having raised £1100 for MacMillan. I finished with regular 140 length swims and having got myself very fit. A challenge like this demands good mental discipline as well as the physical and I learnt a lot about my own self discipline, determination and focus during these three months.
I continue to cycle in most weather conditions and will keep myself fit using the cardio exercises at the gym several times a week in 2023, I plan to increase my riding kilometres in the course of the year & get a larger frame mountain bike.
The previous September I did the Swimathon Challenge of 30.9 kilometre swim within two weeks, so I built up my training and stamina to be able to cope with regular back to back two mile swims. My training was regular long swims of 80 plus lengths alternating with gym work that consisted of 65 minutes on the cross trainer, 20 minutes on the stationary bike and rower. In addition, I dusted my bike down, had it serviced and regularly cycled into The Art Studio, across town most days. I have kept that up now for 10 months and have gone in all weathers, including minus temperatures, rain and wind. The benefit of the training is that I eat & sleep well, feel that I have good stamina for strenuous gardening and DIY jobs.
On achieving the Swimathon I felt a great deal of personal satisfaction because it was a very demanding challenge. I also raised £900 plus for three charities including the Swimathon, Marie Curie and Cancer Relief.
I think on reflection, the biggest thing I learnt was how the mind can dictate to the body. How you can set attainable goals, progressively working towards a target. How you can affirm yourself as you achieve those daily, weekly, monthly goals. Rewarding yourself with an ice-cream or treat is important too.
In addition to the physical challenge, the discipline of the mind is very important. You have to be strong and at times battle with it to do as you want and not give up or go back to bed! The achievement was magnified because I had several days in hospital with cellulitis and a very swollen leg that had to be treated with IV antibiotics. What caused it I don’t fully know but it was very painful and immobilising. It was most likely caused by an infection from gardening, perhaps an insect sting.
Working on physical exercise definitely improves my mental health. I feel more positive about many aspects of life, the ability to do things, I am less tired and have more energy, it helps self confidence. You can also be an encourager to others to take up some exercise as appropriate. I have encouraged one lady student to take up a regular gym workout and get enormous health benefits as a result, helping her breathing by giving greater oxygen to her lungs, building strength, stamina and confidence too.
I paid for a new annual membership today to keep up the exercise. My family incidentally all run, I found that wasn’t for me, so swimming and cardio exercise at the gym has been a very good discipline. In icy weather I walk into The Art Studio across town instead of riding.
The beauty with swimming and rowing and the cycling are that they are not weight bearing, so take the strain off your joints. In the past I would have enjoyed cricket, five-a-side football and badminton singles & baseball when in America. As one gets older, now in my early sixties, it is right to adjust to exercise most appropriate. Exercise also enables you to indulge in some treats that perhaps otherwise you would not allow yourself. I’ve certainly enjoyed some ice creams, cakes and chocolates!
Mental exercise is important too. I play a reasonable game of chess, enjoy Scrabble and Words with Friends 2 and also do the daily Wordle [5 letter word challenge in 6 attempts] & quite often the Quordle [4 x 5 letter words in 9 attempts].
To give a daily mental stimulus is important and helps keep my mind sharp and active. I have coached many juniors at chess over the years. Chess helps you in mental acrobats, I taught my dad to play in a series of power cuts in Kent in the eighties, my children when 8, 6 and 4 years, respectively and my wife of course!
I am an artist, I love to draw and paint and create, being able to concentrate is important to see fine details and work sometimes for hours on a piece of artwork.
Mental energy is required to concentrate, I find the physical and mental exercise helps me in my life as an artist.
For the past 8 years I have facilitated The Art Studio, working with students of all ages, I need to be able to relate to the different individuals attending the classes, stimulating conversion, encouraging them in their artistic expression, nurturing talent, teaching new skills and techniques. If you are ever in the Thetford area do come and visit, have a free cuppa of tea/coffee and look at The Art Studio. You are most welcome to have a chat & you may even want to stay & create some art.
What do I produce? I work across the range of media and keep versatile with different themes and subjects. I teach internationally on Tuesdays and Thursdays and allow the children or adults to dictate the subjects. Recently we have done bees and flowers; desert cactus; children playing in the snow; cartoon characters; snow leopards in the mountains; macaws in the jungle; children playing on the beach; otters on a river bank; Thetford Mill and currently the Queen. Here are some portraits over the years in a range of media, see if you can recognise any faces.
Today, I have been battling with the Queen’s likeness, it has taken a while and I’m not there yet. I am determined not to give up, so even an artist will have to really work at concentrating, asking the hard questions and studying the contours and facial details.
How observant are you?
What celebrity features twice in the portraits?
What is in the middle of the Face2Face logo?
Am I right or left handed?
What football team do I support?