Oh, I am telling you, it feels great to be able to do something good for yourself... and that doesn't involve a big hole in your pocket. Well, a small teensy weensy damage but nothing worrying ;)
See, I've been wanting to go back swimming for the longest time. The last time I swam was when little jj was about 8 months in my tummy. I was heavy but I floated gracefully ;P
I've always believed in the power of swimming. It must be my best strength training yet because firstly, I never could commit going to the gym regularly. The most was 2 months straight and after that, I kept paying the monthly fees without even showing my face at the gym. Secondly, I just hate the stress of looking for parking and now that there are much more commitments at home, I don't think I have the time. Thirdly, you practically do not sweat from swimming and you can even run in the pool where the heavy load of water makes it a perfect resistance to your movements, making you use most part of your muscles. And when you're tired, you could just lie on your back and float in the pool, with the calming sound of water around you. It's so relaxing.
The best part about staying in a condo is the ability to use the swimming pool. I have always loved the water... since young I always had an ambition to be like our then national swimmer, Nurul Huda Abdullah, who kept winning golds in SEA Games and all. I swam so much that my shoulders became much broader than normal girls my height. But, that ambition became just a dream as I wasn't as fast as most people in swimming. But swimming has always been a part of my life and I just cannot look at a swimming pool without the urge of jumping into it ;P
I haven't been swimming since the baby was born partly because I had difficulties to handle the demands of a breastfeeding baby and loads of work day and night. Partly too because I had body issues... I was still on the chubby side and didn't feel all that comfortable with the way I looked. Of course, these things come in a phase and I managed to get out of it after about a year as little jj drank less from me and my appetite started to be more manageable as I become less hungry. Still, I have always dreamt of getting back into shape and there are no better shortcuts (and cheaper too!) than to swim. I figured out, even with work to be done at night, I could slot in swimming for at least an hour every alternate days so that I have more energy after the exercise and that no one will see my bulges/stretch marks at night. Haha but as usual, there are those excuses after excuses especially since the pool at our condo is ice cold at night.
But but but... seeing another friend my age all geared up to lead a healthier lifestyle (and to obtain a leaner body), I suddenly felt so motivated to actually get off my butt instead of complain and feel bad about myself. I mean, you can't keep on blaming the entire world on your issues and there are things that you need to take control because they are all under your control, really.
I digress.
Yesterday, I put on my old swimming gear that I haven't worn in years and it was so difficult to get in and out of it. But I persevered. I needed to swim.
I got out of the apartment, went downstairs and headed to the pool when I realised it was pouring. Heavy rain, in fact. Damn... it was already so difficult to fight with the inner voice inside my head as it kept telling me to rest at home... that I had so much work to do... and that I could just swim the next day but I fought hard with it... and was totally frustrated at the outcome. It was too dangerous to swim and I did not want to get sick. I guess that is a legal excuse, isn't it?
So worried that it would put off this spirit in me, I kept thinking about Dilla who's on her way to a better self and off I went to get a new bathing suit which I got for only RM58 after a 50% discount. I thought that was a real good sign for me and there I was, happily swimming away after I had cooked dinner for my angels and fed little jj her dinner.
At first I only did half a lap... and then 1 lap non-stop at the swimming pool that's probably half the size of an olympic pool. I then did 2 laps non-stop, enjoyed the peace and serenity and then surprised myself with a possible 7 laps non-stop for 20 minutes (I lost count on how many laps I actually did). I did a relaxingly slow front crawl all the way so that I didn't use too much of my energy and I forced myself to stop so that I didn't over exert myself as I had plenty of things to do tomorrow... can't afford any cramps in my muscles.
After I was done, I went back upstairs and made sure to take some photos of those flabs to see how far I'd go from tonight.
"Would it be too ambitious to aim that I would fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes by my 25th *ahem* birthday this December? Can I?"
We shall see...
I guess it all takes some little courage to just get up and go do what you've always known you had to do. Once you have gone past that hurdle, it would give you enough strength to keep going, InsyaAllah...
Thanks, Dilla... you don't know what a big influence you had on me.
13 comments:
go babe, u r so determined!
i bought myself a new swimsuit, but it's still left untouched. poyo je!
dah la nak buat laps segala pun x pandai. wakakaka
sigh.
i so want to get off my butt!
the only exercise i do now is dancing at home.
will be more disciplined after this!
Next time I feel like going for a swimming, I know who I can look for..babe, I dunno whether I can swim as graceful as I could. After learned swimming last time, waaahhh so semangat, always went for a swim then stopped abruptly!Lepas ni minta u tunjuk ajar I, heheh...
Yeay toughcookie! I always put on hold to swim at nite coz I had no one to look after the l'il one. But actually I can always leave him to Mr. Hubs for a while, no? ;)
You go girl!!
Yeay, babe! Yeay!!! Way to go.. That swimwear purchase really sealed the deal, me thinketh! The signs are pointing to only one direction. The pool!!! hihihihi
So proud of you. I think I might also try the swimming thing to vary my exercise regime. Anything that gets the butt moving, I say! tapi, perlukan ku beli swimwear dari Spanx dahulu? huhuhuhuhu
(by swimming, I meant doing laps and not berendam dalam air dengan budak-budak)
I just learned swimming and the earness is there but it's quite difficult to find a place to swim, epsc during lunch hour and after office hour is so out for me
and know after not swimming for a while, sudah lupa ....
huwaa.. I want to swim
go juan go!
i think u can achieve your goals nak muat ur pre pregnancy clothes tu. lgpun u tak mkn byk mcm i hehe. plus... u r a good swimmer.. 7laps nonstop?? that is so WOW! i suku kolam pun dah semput2..
Yeay!!! again... Ganbatte!
Have always wanted to learn how to swim (Yes I do all kinds of moves with uber complicated names but dunno how to swim..)
Tengokla...
btw.. u're tagged, no pressure of course/:)
belle,
determined sebab dah dua tahun menternak perut beb hehe... cukup2 la tu...
ala darling... you tu slim-melim je i nengok... hehe. takpe, you should swim for leisure because it is such a fun activity. i kenala buat laps sebab nak buang lomak2 tu ha... ;P
fairygodmother,
i think you forgot another highly intense exercise you have been involved recently - shopping! hehe.... itu exercise juga la tu ;P
dancing is good and fun too. cut down on your sweets (omg! did i just say that??? hehe) and you will lose some pounds, at least ;)
hanz,
tak payah worry how you look like in the pool... bantai je. janji, kita dapat work out our muscles. lama2 nanti your movements will be more refined la... biasa la tu.
haaa... kalau you rajin datang malam2 to my condo i boleh je tolong apa2 yang patut. nak ajak you swim weekend tak best sebab ramai budak2...
momster,
hehe thanks, dear.
yes, absolutely. ala... kejap say 1/2 hour pun ok... after a couple of weeks he'll get used to spending some time with daddy, you can swim longer say for an hour.
dilla darling,
oh thank you thank you for those words of encouragement :)
haaa.... you could, you know, buy that swimwear ;P haritu baru lepas hujan, so the pool wasn't that cold (water in pool/the sea is always opposite the temperature surrounding it kan?) therefore, it was just nice. suam2 kuku kata orang. so, kalau you nak try swimming, i guess it's safe to swim kalau petang tu hujan.
nadnye,
you dah lama tak swim kot... once you masuk dalam air, sure tak lupa punya... it will come back almost instantly. best kan swimming ni? hmmm tapi susah la kalau got no time. i am not so sure if you're staying in a house or a condo with swimming facilities tapi kalau you're staying in a condo, just curi 1/2 hour to swim may not be too much to ask from your family... i made sure dinner is on the table and suap si kenit, by 9pm i go out to swim. i think it is a good arrangement sebab anak belum ngantuk untuk tido and doesn't need you that time and by the time you habis swim, you'll feel a burst of energy because swimming does that to people. then you can sambung buat kerja rumah if you need to.
yana,
thank you thank you! hehe...
you think so? takut sikit how to achieve that goal sebab kalau setakat perut je insyaAllah boleh kempiskan. tapi bab bons and paha tu entah boleh entah tidak...
ihikhikhik.... bab semput tu, sebab kena have proper breathing techniques. ala macam orang yang lari marathon tu, kita lari sikit dah semput kan? diorang tu ada teknik2 lari yang betul and you've got to breathe in and out properly agar udara semua dapat circulate in your body evenly. ala-ala macam tu la kononnya... macam pandai sangat pulak i ni hehe... ;P
sarcy,
babe, saw the tag and am so touched by that gesture. tapi beb, i dah buat la that beautiful blogger award... it was just underneath that sunshine award i gave you when i did the entry here.... don't think i have other 7 things that people don't already know la.. hmmm let me think *closes eyes and thinks*
i dah lama nak swimming. tapi kat rumah cuma ada swimming pool Diha yg kecik tu aje. *sigh*
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