Ok, hand up all those parents/teachers/nursery workers who have been subjected to concerts, videos and cd of the Singing Kettle. I personally have been to many concerts and it has taken years of therapy for me to recover from actually being ‘volunteered’ to go up on stage and be a pig on Old MacDonald’s farm! For many of us the phrase spout, handle, lid of metal, what’s inside the Singing Kettle meant we were about to be faced with the full horror of many action songs and trying to look as though we were enjoying ourselves.
http://www.singingkettle.com/ In case you don’t know what I am talking about !
Can’t think why this should have come into my head in the middle of Kettlecise on Saturday morning. Every time I lifted that kettle weight up to my shoulders, held it in front of me as I lunged forward or did my best to complete the full minutes of star jumps, in my head all I could hear was that bloody Singing Kettle rhyme. I had to stop now and again to get my concentration back on hauling the kettle weight above my head. Isn’t it weird how certain songs or rhymes appear in your head at the strangest moments? The one thing I will say was that it made me take a deep breath and refocus on the exercise. At the last Kettlecise class I found myself trying to keep up with everyone else but on Saturday morning I realised that to get the full benefit of the exercises, I need to focus back on me, not on the class. Go at my pace, yes pushing myself, but not so that I am knackered and can’t carry on. A new-found skill has arrived! Focus!
Being able to shift my focus has definitely helped me, it has come from the couple of days I went to the Gym on my own, and from some meditation techniques I have learned. Realising that I am in charge of what I do when I exercise on my own because there is no GymGuyMark telling me to do ten more, or another 5 minutes, what I do is up to me. Even in the Kettlecise Class, Angie can encourage us to do as many reps of a movement with the weight as possible, but if I don’t maintain my concentration, the focus slips and I could either end up being annoyed at myself, or let the weight go and brain someone! The old brain needs to be exercised as much as the creaking bones and straining muscles and it therefore as important that I take time to relax and chill out. Calm the old thoughts, rid the little grey cells of the days noise and listen only to my breathing or the sound of silence.
So whether I am trying to do squats, whilst trying not to let go of a Kettle weight or walking on the treadmill, the brain will go into the correct gear and remain focussed on the prize.
So the, spout, handle, lid of metal, what’s inside G’s Kettle?
A pair of skinny red jeans and a fabulous pair of shoes and the prize is in my focus!
Gx
Gin or Gym 