Fitness cults and other adventures

Part of my journey of self improvement, has been attempting to improve my fitness levels. This decision has had several motivating factors: the fact that according to my BMI, I fall into the 'obese' category, and the knowledge that exercise gives endorphins, which is a good way to keep my depressive episodes in check.

I'm not particularly fit, but I have always been able to walk for hours, but in the last few months, this form of exercise has become disinteresting and dull to me. So, I have turned my attention to other things.

Running was something I briefly considered, but I don't think my body is particularly well suited to it, and after reading Kerre Woodham's "Short Fat Chick to Marathon Runner", I realised how expensive running is, and how much of a toll it takes on the body. With my long standing history of back injuries this would not benefit me I feel. (Let me digress for one second here to say that I highly recommend Kerre Woodham's book for any aspiring runners, and also "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by the amazing Japanese writer Murakami.)

So after ruling out running, I tried Bikram Yoga. People have been raving about it, and personally I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. My experience of it was disastrous...I found it to be some sort of weird exercise cult. Never mind the heat and the humidity, which is enough to put anyone off, the people were uptight, abrasive and condescending, and the staff stressed so many times that I must not leave the room, I was afraid they had put locks on the doors.

Fortunately, my journey did not end there, and I moved on to find exercise love! ZUMBA! When I first saw the hideous American ads on TV for it, I felt quite sure I would never try, let alone enjoy Zumba. But it is fantastic! Because I'm so ridiculously unco-ordinated, I don't get half the moves right, but despite this I'm laughing, smiling and having a great time. Best of all, it works up a considerable sweat. It has become my natural anti-depressant. Who knew exercise could be so fun!