adminInnocent Choga : Fitness
“If you had to choose one characteristic to get through life choose a sense of humour.” This quote from actress Jennifer Jones applies to our selection of physical activities to engage in. We need to select physical activities that make us happy, because we need to exercise for life. Many people talk of getting bored by exercise or sporting activities. Some find it difficult to put children on exercise and sporting programs as the children show dislike for the prescribed activities and thereby default. Attending these activities is like a jail sentence to them.So despite the fact that it is necessary to select an activity that we need or the child needs, we should engage in something we can do comfortably and we are interested in.
When selecting an activity for ourselves or our children it may be necessary to consider whether we are able to participate without inhibitions or limitations, be they physical or psychological. These may be the reason why we do not enjoy certain activities. If one engages in an activity they are comfortable in then it is a sustainable activity that can become a lifestyle because it is fun and enjoyable.
It is imperative to seek the advice of a physiotherapist when making a decision to join a particular physical activity, or to prescribe one for your child especially if one has weight or body structure challenges.
The physiotherapist will help one to choose a safe activity in consideration of their weight and body structure. A child with a slight skeletal problem may feel uncomfortable performing certain activities and worse still if they do not point it out they may aggravate the deformity.
A safe activity is a fun and enjoyable activity for individuals with challenges. If a child has skeletal structure deformity or is overweight they may have to start with low impact activities that do not put stress on their physiques.
Activities like stationary cycling, swimming and walking may be prescribed initially because these are easy on such individuals. The buoyancy of water is said to have therapeutic effects on such individuals.
The above quote refers to one of three physical activities that assist us in getting fit, which is playing games. Playing games is fun and if one has a problem with serious exercising and sport then the alternative is to play physical games or engage in playful exercising.
I understand in some countries some people are finding the usual way of exercising boring and adaptive and once in while they enjoy exercising in an unusual way. Some will go running across irregular landscapes and running up the mountains. Others are into obstacle — course racing, where challenging obstacles are set in the way to test their fitness. Others are also into muddy races in which people race through the muddy courses.
These activities are said to be the ultimate test of fitness, but one can stop whenever they feel like stopping there is no obligation to finish the games. To put the icing on the cake these activities involve various facets of life, for example the love of nature, the love of thrills and adventure as well the aspect of socializing with like-minded folks thus making it playful exercise that is fun and enjoyable.
It is the same if one does not like the pressure associated with sport. Playing games, serious exercising and competitive sport are three activities that assist us in getting fit in different ways and with similar and different physical and psychological benefits.
Although the three activities appear to be one and the same thing they require varying levels of commitment and fitness and they help us attain different psychological characteristics and they require varying levels of fitness.
Physical activities do not always have the same benefits to all children because the children may perceive the activities differently. For example pitting a child or even an elderly person in a competitive activity where they perform dismally. They will not enjoy the activity. The win by all means attitude in sport might not appeal to some children, though competitive sport is said to ingrain a winning attitude in all aspect of life in some children.
Philosophers like Sheehan classify exercise as a science that is mechanical, play as an art that is free flowing and sport is both.
In exercise we design programmes for training according to our needs. We have needs that we have to address so we try to stick to scheduled workouts. In competitive sport winning is the ulterior motive. The attitude that we must attain our goals or the attitude that we must win by all means takes the fun out of such activities.
When we play games we are not fussy about our fitness levels or winning. We are not worried about the quality of referees and judges, we can pick anyone to be a referee and judge. But in serious exercise you might need an expert instructor and in sport the referee and judge will have to have to be qualified and regularly attend seminars to be knowledgeable, fair and just.
They have to work as much as the athlete. In regard of this, it is unfortunate to hear of violence at social soccer like the killing of a referee because social soccer is a game where there is no pressure to win. The games we play are not documented either. Competitive sports are documented there are rules and regulations.
Dancing is said to assist in mental endurance, giving us balance and even agility.There is psychological difference when we dance as a competitive activity and when we dance for fun as much as there is a difference when we engage in playful exercise and serious exercise. Although competitive sport is said to instil characteristics that make us strive to excel in all aspects of life, those who cannot perform well feel uncomfortable when they feel they are being judged, but will be happy to participate when it is for fun.
In sport one has to be highly conditioned to perform well and last the duration of the match. In exercising we motivate ourselves to continue and the instructor pushes us to continue in order to attain our set goals. In games this is of no concern, and one can just stop whenever they wish to. It is said that we all need to play the young and old alike. Play is non-competitive, spontaneous, and self directed with a few suggested rules like fair play and no clear rules.
Guest
This week our guest is guest is a granddad of fitness George Master who will be turning 61 in November. He is a Retired Sergeant Major. Master started training with weights in 1977 and he is still working out. He grew up in Mufakose and he was inspired to start exercising by his late elder brother Dominic.
Growing up in the high-density at that time was a turbulent time for the boys and he became a brawler and at one time had a brush with the late Kilimanjaro and his Mbare gang. At that time the boys from Mbare, Mufakose, Highfield and Kambuzuma used to square up against each other whenever they met in each other’s territories.
“I did everything the misguided youths did at that time and I was a brawler itching to pick up fights but my brother Dominic and the late George Takundwa talked me out of mischief and violence.”
Personally, George Master was one of my masters when I started weight training with my friends, but we were fortunate that most of the guys were kind to us. He was known as Mr Perfect because just like his brother Dominic he had a proportionate physique and he always encouraged us to have balanced workouts despite the fact that every individual has physical flaws. He competed and did well in a number of national body-building contests at junior and senior level.
When he joined the army he satiated his street fighting hunger in the ring as a boxer. He was stationed in Bulawayo and he represented the Bulawayo side in army club boxing tournaments in the early eighties. He was coached by the likes of Ndaba Dube, Calden Ncube and a Mr Cunnningham. He fought in the middleweight division.
He was transferred to Harare where he joined the Army School of Sports as a fitness trainer and boxing coach. He also had the opportunity to attend the World Military Games as a coach for Arigoma Chiponda, who was the Air Force Champion and Tshabangu who was the Army Champion at that time.
Master is one of the gym managers along with Vaughn Carl at Empire gym. He doubles up as an instructor as he still enjoys coaching. He still has the energy to work out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays apart from the fitness classes that he instructs everyday. He says his day starts as early as 3.45am and at 5.30 he starts on his exercise session which always starts with a run. He says running is now his major fitness activity.
“Because of age we have to take cardio workouts as a priority because our metabolism is slow so no matter what you do you are bound to gain weight if you do not make cardio training part of your workouts at this stage.”
After the run he does his fitness exercises and the last section of his workout is a weight training session.
His diet comprises of low fat foods and he eats white meat throughout the week and he may enjoy red meat over the weekend to get the B vitamins that it contains.
Master is married to Lucy Madzangaro. They are parents to four children Robert (36), Eva who is late, Robson (34), and Rodney(25). Rodney is into sport. He is a karate expert , having started karate lessons at the age of 9. He also lifts weights for strength. George Master and his wife Lucy also have 3 grandchildren .
In his parting speech, Master had wise words for the young. “As I mentioned as a young man I imbibed and was into street fighting so I know what it is all about. It was not worthy, thank God I saw the light early and changed in time. I have seen many friends succumbing to vices, wasting their lives and dying young. My advice is that one should select an exercise activity that they enjoy.
That will keep them preoccupied and they must have good friends with the same kind of thinking. Bad friends will always drag you into the mud. In training I partnered with the late George Takundwa, who was much disciplined and a teetotaller.
For me exercising is part of my life I don’t think I will ever stop. As for performance enhancing substances I say do not ever take them because you do not know what you are taking and how to flush them out. Those toxins will accumulate in the body and they will haunt you when you get old. Definitely there is a pay back time.
Email;[email protected] Innocent Choga is a six time National Bodybuilding Champion with international experience. He is studying for a science degree in Physical Education and Sport.
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