PLAYTIME!!

*Note — please check with your doctor or health guru before embarking on any new health boosting or playtime activity.*

Yes, I just changed the wording for “exercise”.  But, I like the term better, don’t you? It doesn’t carry such a weighted negative response as that “e” word certainly. The thing is, I believe that the words “activity”, “movement” or “playtime” carry a far better connotation for most people. Some folks tend to cringe at the words “you should exercise more”.  Are you one of the majority that cringes at the idea of “exercise”? But, how do you feel if someone told you “you should play more”? Better? Most of this is all in our heads, right? It’s all about how our experiences or even how the media has shaped our views about exercise.

I remember a time in high school, I was on this aerobics and stretching kick.  One day my mom said “Your calves are looking like a man’s calves — too much muscle. You should exercise less.” At the time, hormones all in flux, I decided that I certainly didn’t want my

legs to look like a guy’s legs so I stopped working out so much. Exercise, for me, became aligned with looking unattractive, not lady-like and certainly not what boys expected of someone they’d be interested in pursuing. But, as time went on, I learned that our bodies needed exercise and I tried a variety of things from martial arts, to jogging, to kickboxing (yes, I know that’s a martial art) and on and on to aerobics, yoga, bellydancing, ballroom dancing, walking, pilates, water aerobics, weight lifting, swimming, and the list goes on. All of the time spent trying all these different exercises and the most enjoyable (and longest time doing it) was the dancing stuff. It just didn’t feel like exercise but more like “playing”.

When we were kids we “played” all the time — tag, dodgeball, hopscotch, jump rope, etc. and we certainly didn’t think “ugh, I have to go outside and play hopscotch because the doctor says I need to do it more often”. No, we probably had a neighborhood friend come knocking on our door and say “hey, you wanna play tag?” or something and we were like, “sure”. So, why, as adults, do we look at exercise like a life-ending, time-consuming chore that just has to be done? Why not change things? I’ve heard a few people say “choose the exercise that you will do”. Makes sense but how about you choose to play instead?

Honestly, I’d rather go hang out at the local park and throw a frisbee around with my family than go to a gym and toss a medicine ball around. Yes, yes, the medicine ball will help me build muscle faster but what use is it when I get tired of it and start making excuses to miss my gym days? Exactly. Sometimes, you still need to do the monotonous stuff you have to do but why not pepper it up with some play time? Go for a walk in a park with a partner and occasionally throw out a “Hey, race ya to that tree! Ready. Set. Go!”. Dammit, stop acting like an adult and act like a kid every once in awhile!

What other Playtime Activities can you think of? I’ve got a few suggestions:

• Hopscotch (steal your kids’ sidewalk chalk and make super hopscotches!)
• Jumping rope (get some friends and/or family together – see if you can still do the double dutch and don’t forget the HOT PEPPERS!!)
• Play frisbee with some family and/or friends
• Race a friend or family member to the end of your street
• Go roller skating (preferably at a roller rink but, hey, you’re in charge of your choices and if you’re adventurous, try it on the sidewalk)
• Challenge your family or friends to see who can stand on one leg the longest
• Play musical chairs for the fun of it
• Kick the Can (or rock or twig)
• Play keep away (aka monkey in the middle)
• Go to the park and use the swings (who cares if people look at you funny, just scrunch up your face and stick out your tongue at them)

The choices are endless – use your imagination or, better yet, dust off your inner child’s imagination and use that!

After Thought: Sometimes, you have to leave the dishes or the vacuuming for another time and go play. Way that I look at it, if you get hurt or get sick because you didn’t move your body enough, how are those things going to get done anyway?