So it seems that Friday’s article pushed a few buttons. As expected. It’s good that we all have an opinion on the Heart Attack in a Box.
Instead of making them jog laps and do mind-numbing body-weight exercises and fitness drills, I did something which put a smile on their faces; produced a football (Aussie Rules), a soccer ball and a Frisbee from my bag of tricks. When they saw the football they were like kids at Christmas. Instead of the normal well-structured, age-appropriate (whatever that means), sensible outdoor training session, what ensued was an hour of laughing, kicking, catching, throwing, wrestling (boys will be boys) and plenty of laughs.
Can we do that again?
Without doubt, they expended more energy, ran further and worked harder than they had in any workout they’d ever done with me. Something else happened; they enjoyed it more. They didn’t talk about business for an hour, they didn’t complain about how hard I was working them, they didn’t discuss their problems and they weren’t aware of the time. They just had sixty minutes of fun. When we got back to the gym, they asked me if they could do that type of session at least once a week. All my study, all my knowledge, all the science behind my previous workouts with them, all that strategic planning… and what session did they enjoy the most? The unstructured ‘freestyle’ session chasing balls and Frisbees!
Climbing trees
On many levels, playing games is a much more effective, enjoyable and productive means of changing a body and maintaining focus than the majority of traditional (some might say boring and repetitious) workouts we subject ourselves to at the gym. Most of us get to a certain age where we stop doing the cool things we did when we were young. Ever consider what a great training session climbing a tree is? It’s almost the complete workout; upper and lower body strength, flexibility, aerobic fitness, balance and co-ordination. Okay, it’s slightly more dangerous than walking on a stupid treadmill… but a crap-load more fun. It’s a pity that we grown-ups get to a point where we stop running, throwing, catching, kicking, lifting, balancing and climbing. Apparently we’re too busy, too mature, too responsible and too old to do such things.
In the worlds of exercise science and exercise psychology we use a technique called cognitive dissociation (CD) as a tool to help people exercise more productively, more consistently, more enthusiastically and with a greater level of enjoyment. In relation to exercise, CD is a fancy schmancy term for taking your mind off what you’re doing to your body. For example, compare running around (and around, and around) a sports ground non-stop for ten kilometres (six miles) to running the same distance along a beautiful beach with a gorgeous view of the ocean while listening to your favourite music pumping through some light-weight headphones. Even though you’re doing the same thing (as far as your body knows) – running ten kilometres – you will have two very different experiences because of what’s going on above your shoulders. The ocean view and the music will provide you with a level of mental disconnection (relief, distraction) from the physical process. The beach run will be quite a different experience to the sports ground run. When we play active games we are doing the same thing. That’s why many people would prefer to run five miles while playing tennis, soccer, football or Frisbee than they would to run laps of an oval or to die of boredom running on a revolving rubber belt at a gym.
Some of the best physical results I’ve seen with people over forty have come from game-based exercise sessions. I’ve taught sixty year-old women (yes, women) how to kick and mark (catch) and handball (an Australian thing) a football and seen amazing improvements in not only their fitness and strength but also in their balance, co-ordination, agility and even, reaction time. I’ve worked with seventy plus year-olds doing climbing, balance and co-ordination sessions on kid’s playground equipment and they absolutely loved every session. I’ve watched people in their sixties take up surfing (successfully) and I’ve umpired volleyball games where the youngest person on the court was fifty five. Given the opportunity, most people love to play. Our bodies love it too.And as someone much smarter than me once said:
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Craig,
As someone who climbed a mountain today(not actually on purpose, just can’t read a map terribly well it turns out) for entertainment, I agree totally. As soon as I got back to the top I realised that my legs were caning from the immense effort, but for the three hours I spent on the hillside I had no idea I was doing anything but having fun with the kids. Cherie would have been so proud of me!
Sooooooooo, can I skip my hour of cardio tonight boss? Just kidding!
Hugs,
Jo
Greetings CH
Beautifully done
Have a great – no, fabulous – no make that a super duper amazing week.
Hope your feeling your best again.
TG
P.S I introduced a friend to your site and she promptly booked her place for Adelaide.
Craig,
excellent post,goes to show there really is no excuse to not exercise is there?
I “wrestle” with my 15yo son (trouble is he is taller and stronger than me and often hurts me unintentionally) but I get so puffed out and feel I have had an incredible work out.
I also crank up the radio and dance with my daughter, also get very puffed out especially when I add singing as well (which is funny because I can’t sing too well, but hey I am enjoying myself!)
So I guess without conciously thinking about it I am getting a pretty good work out,and spending time we with the kids…the multifunctional workout!
Oh won’t be me letting you know what that burger is like…have been working to hard on my health and fitness to stuff it up now!!!
Thanks and hugs to you, Craig
Michelle
Hey Craig,
I said multifunctional….could mean mult-tasking lol. (had a very social weekend with a few birthday parties and I am tired lol.)
Jo well done on the mountain climbing! All that lovely fresh air would not have gone astray either! When you are enjoying what you are doing it really doesn’t feel like a work out does it?
Hugs again Craig,
Michelle
Hello, everybody
Very interesting insight, Craig. We should never stop playing games, but do we?
Happy,
Saulius
Hey Craig, sorry I haven’t left a comment for a while… been busy on the adventure playground with my grandkids ! 59 is just a number… my real age is 17 !
And you won’t see that HJ abomination anywhere near me… if I hadn’t already been a veggie, that would be enough to do it !
{{HUGS}} Tina
BTW, if you’d like to see what Bill and I were doing a few weeks ago, have a bit of a scroll through http://www.imagitinations.com/August2008GhanTrip/Ghan0806.html and http://www.imagitinations.com/August2008GhanTrip/Ghan0831.html … or any of the other 42 pages !
A mountain girl in the making aren’t you Jo?
( )
Thanks TG… ( )
Labas Saulius
yep, most of us do stop… but we shouldn’t.
( )
Hi Tina – checked out your album – you’re an obsessive compulsive happy snapper! What an awesome trip!
It looks like you and Bill had some fun – great quality photos BTW
( )
Dear Craig,
You've hit the the right note here!
I hold music 7 movement classes for newborns – 7 years & their families. Sometimes when you 'feel' you haven't got them eating out of your hand, it's fabulous to throw the organised lesson out the window, pull a much 'funnerer' song/piece/dance out of thin air & run with it.
Fabulous for the group and refreshing for yourself. So your post today relates to the arts as well!
It's so satisfying isn't it?
K
I love that you included tree-climbing in your idea of sports. I’d just stare at a footy or soccer ball (and I LOVE footy, but only as a spectator) and I’ve never figured out frisbees. As a kid, any sort of ball game was just a signal for me to be abused and humiliated, but I spent most of my childhood up trees.
Yeah. Why don’t they have playgrounds with slides and stuff for grownups?
Hi Craig,
I have thought about that often when I watch my kids have an amazing time for hours at the playground. I’ve thought – “I could do that” as I watch them climb, balance and jump – but yeah, I do that at those things at the gym…it would be so much fun to sometimes do it outdoors in the sunshine,though.
I have been known to jump on a way too small for my legs bicycle and follow them around for a few circuits – that’s fun too.
You’re so right- adults do love to play – more of it I say…I’m off to the monkey bars…
hugs,
Monica
Hi K – thanks for dropping by ( )
Hi featherfour – nothing like a good climb… ( )
See you at the monkey bars Monica ( )
This entry put a smile on my face. With the sun out and shining I spent some time running around and kicking balls with my two boys over the weekend. There were some extra kids over on Saturday afternoon and running around chasing them while making monster noises is vastly more fun than grinding out a morning walk.
@ featherfour – I don't know if you have any children, but if you do and they get invited to a birthday party at an indoor play centre take some time to play on the slides and other play equipment.
There's one centre that I've been to a few times with my boys and 30 minutes of climbing up the play equiopment and going down the slides ends up being a pretty brutal workout.
@ Craig H – maybe the key is that "exercise" needs to be hidden in pleasurable & fun activities instead of a being a (boring) chore.
Cheers
Spoke to my brother yesterday at our parents place for fathers day. I asked him if he had tried the fat burger and he had! He said he wouldnt go back for seconds and he is a human garbage disposal unit and generally likes that stuff (I told him about the fat content and he said he didnt care about that, the burger just wasnt that good).
Goes to show some people dont care about the nutritional info at all and if the burger was awesome and yum he wouldnt hesitate to get another one…
Hi there Craig!
Or should l say surprise….yeah been lost on a mountain of late!
Ace post! Isn’t it interesting that as we age we tend to lose our ‘inner child’ in apparent search for ‘wisdom’. I believe reconnecting with a free spirited mind and body that a child possesses is the key to many of our challenges?
Hey Jo, yes l am SO proud of you! What mountain did you climb? How exciting, I might just head over and check it out….you can be my guide! Keep up the awesome work….you are a Champion! Big hug (and cheers) for you ( )
Oh….and one for you too Craig! ( )
What fun activity are you going to play this week Craig Jnr? ( )
Thanks for an amazing website!
Being the not so fit and unhealthy member of your forum the next time I swing by a HJ’s I will call in and try a quad just so I can give you a report. I’ll take a hit for the team. I may need a beer to wash it down. The things I do for you Mr Harper!
Cheers,Vin.
P.S, By the way. Great Post. Vin
Good thoughts Ben …
Cheers.
I can always rely on you to take a hit for the greater good(?) Vinnie Boy.
Manhug…
Can you come push me on the swing?
; )
I would love to Friday…
So true Craig!
For our last anniversary I dragged my boyfriend along to the local pools where we got a good workout climbing the many stairs to the hydroslides .. time after time after time
Nevermind that we’re not kids anymore (I’m 24, he’s 29) .. it was so much fun, I never want to outgrow the “kid stuff”! 
Take care
Sus