My relationship with sports has been difficult since my childhood. I grew up with my grandparents while my parents were busy with their own business, and I never heard anything about sports until a certain age. I didn’t have a bike and never learned to ride a bike; There was no one interested in gymnastics or swimming in our garden. The maximum of my sports achievements was jumping rope.
When I was six, I tried ice skating and dislocated my arm; From then on, I gave up sports without much success, at least until adolescence, when my mother did her best to instill in me a love of movement. After the obstacles at the Winter Stadium, my friend and I went for a walk, and then running was completely replaced by walking – my mother did not even know about it.
I suffered mostly in physical education classes – and if thanks to athletics I could run and jump relatively decently, with ropes and other push-ups it was very difficult. The physical education teacher nicknamed “Bald Gingerbread” seemed to us like a cruel and boring grandfather. Many years later, I realized how unfairly we treated him: after all, he wanted us to feel good in general, for this he used completely non-pedagogical methods – mostly insults and screams.
At the institute, things did not go any better: it turned out that to get a diploma you need to be able to swim and ski.
And if I had half coped with skiing in Pavlovsk’s winter park, choking on tears from powerlessness and loneliness, when all my fellow students had gone too far and a dangerous stranger came out from behind the trees and tried to start a frank conversation, then with the pool the situation was completely bad.
At the end of the fourth year, I went to the swimming test hoping for a miracle. My friends advised me to wet my swimsuit in the shower and bring my record book to the table where the teachers were sitting. Many people succeeded, but I did not. A tall, red-haired teacher named Vasily (I don’t remember his middle name) figured out my secret plan and became very angry. While he was dragging me into the pool to throw me into the water, I was screaming like crazy and leaning on Vasily with all my arms and legs.
As a result, he gave up on this idea, I failed the exam, and my scholarship and diploma were in danger. Then my friend Lena, who swam the required meter in my place, saved me and, in response to a reasonable question from the commission, confidently answered why there was a completely different face in the photo in the record book. She just grew her hair out. Now do you understand why after graduating from university I decided to say goodbye to sports forever? But years passed, kilograms were added, and one fine day I realized that if I didn’t even get on skis, I would at least somehow start moving my ass.
This is how I started yoga; because you don’t have to jump and be out of breath and also because the gym is near my house. If you think the following will be a great story of a weak, unathletic person turning into a fit athlete, you are wrong.
After six years and seven plus kilos, I decided to abandon the asanas and Ujjay breathing and step up the pace – I bought a gym membership. Now my sports week looks like this: on Monday I jump on a big ball risking a fall, on Tuesday I grunt in Pilates, on Thursday I wrap my legs around and dance the Lindy Hop, on Saturday I swing my arms and legs try not to sink in Water aerobics. I’ve been living this way for two months and so far I haven’t seen any change.
I was starting to despair and wanted to quit, but then our president announced that they would provide a tax deduction in exchange for switching to GTO standards. He said that citizens who care about their own health should be encouraged. I am exactly the same citizen!
I looked at the TRP standards and realized that I was rejoicing too early. Even in my ninth category for favors, you have to do 9 push-ups to get a gold badge! And even in my best years I never dreamed of such wonderful results. Or running 2 kilometers in 16 minutes… This is also a mediocre possibility, even on foot…
In any case, while they are preparing the legislative framework there, I have the opportunity to build muscle and increase athletic performance with them.
There is a backup option in case of emergency; I recently found a silver TRP badge from my school days. I don’t remember how we passed the standards, but obviously physical education teacher Mikhail Aleksandrovich (the same “Bald Gingerbread”) really knew his job.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.