Pilates
I can do that now! Of course I can't, but I have discovered that Pilates is the way forward (that is not Pilates it's ballet). My wife has being doing Pilates for some years now; starting in group classes at the gym, to more focused sessions and then one to one's with a highly qualified instructor. I could tell she was getting stronger, and could do things with her body I couldn't with mine, but I did not think it was for me and anyway, who has time when they are cycling in every spare moment!
About April time I got off my bike after a long session and realised I was still flexed in my cycling position. I had had a great cycle and felt strong on it so the combination of my position and perceived performance made me say to "I am morphing into a bicycle". I think that the fact that I cannot really run anymore because of my bad hips, and the feeling that on a bike I can compete as I used to, means that I really do feel on top of the world when I am cycling, which contributed to me making this statement.
A few weeks later I started to think that my inflexibility really was not a good thing at all. Cycling is great, but the motions are peculiar to cycling, and once clipped in the pedals many of the bodies important stabilizing muscles become redundant and weak. This is not good for other activities, flexibility and maintaining athletic performance, particularly when you are already sixty.
So I decided to try Pilates and I booked a one to one session with Nigel at The Green Room in Wakefield, where Julie was now going for her sessions with Sandra, the other half of the "Pilates Duo" there. I booked 5 sessions. Nigel started me off slowly and methodically. Everything was hard to do and alien to me; to change the bad habits of a lifetime is a difficult process. Pilates makes you aware of what your body is doing, teaches you to do it better and improves strength and flexibility. That is not the expert definition, but one of my own. When I am cycling now I am much more aware when I am in a poor position and of how I am using my muscles. For example on the up strokes am I engaging my psoas muscle or using my quads? Am I riding with my back in a good position, are my shoulders relaxed and open and much more?
However, at the beginning I really did struggle to the point that I was not enjoying it and considered not bothering. Now 20 sessions on, I look forward to my once a week one hour session and hate to miss it. Nigel is a fantastic patient expert with knowledge of the workings of the body which go far beyond Pilates itself. At home I do exercises in between the sessions, but more important than that I think about how my body is doing things and try to correct the ingrained faults. For example, one habit I have had all my adult life, is standing with my knees hyper-extended and my shoulders braced back. I now try to ensure I flex my knees and open and relax my shoulders.
So I recommend Pilates to you all, but I would suggest if you are new to it, you go to a professional and not just sign up to a class at the gym. There are all sorts of Pilates instructors and many I suspect will not give you the benefits I have had from Nigel, or Julie from Sandra, who teach Classic Pilates to a very high standard. I suggest if you live nearby go to The Green Room in Wakefield. (www.greenroompilates.co.uk)
This weekend I am doing my last ever triathlon; the Brownlee Triathlon at Harewood House in Leeds. I hope Jonny has recovered from WTSCozumel! My two mates, Pete and Tim, are doing it and so I need to get enough lead on them in the swim and bike to allow for my hobble round the run (not run for 2 years). I have suggested they can do an Alistair Brownlee on me when they pass me on the run and throw me over the line in front of them. Only fair they are 50 and 41 not 60!
