It wouldn’t be January without someone bringing up New Year’s Resolutions, would it? This year I’ve been on the lookout for more unusual or fun resolutions, alongside the typical lose weight/exercise more/drink less alcohol ones.
One quirky resolution that I saw on social media was dubbed “Pasta Quest”, where you attempt to try as many different shapes of pasta as possible throughout the year. That sounds like a pretty low-effort resolution (which makes a nice change!) that you wouldn’t feel guilty about if you didn’t succeed at it.
I think that’s part of the problem with the classic “self-improvement” type of resolutions – there’s a temptation to go all in at the start, which is really hard to keep up with during the post-Christmas slump. My tactic has always been to start small, then if the small thing goes well I can build it up as the year goes on.
So if you’re looking for a gentle way to ease into doing some exercise or improving your mobility, then I know just the place to start.
You may (or may not) remember Joe Wicks, who did a whole load of online exercise classes to try to keep the nation active during the pandemic lockdowns. I know we’re not locked down any more, but the miserable weather and dark evenings definitely make me feel cooped up and couch potato-ey.
So if you are interested in getting more active, but can’t persuade yourself to venture out into the storms, I’d recommend looking at Joe’s 10 minute Seniors Workout videos. They’re pretty low intensity, you don’t need any equipment, just a small amount of space that you can stand and move around in, and they’re completely free to use.
You’ll need the YouTube app, or you can go to the website, which is www.youtube.com. I found it works really well on a smart TV, but you could also use a computer, tablet or smartphone, provided you can prop it up somewhere visible.
If you aren’t watching it on a TV, make sure you click or tap on the full screen button in the bottom right corner of the video so you can see the video properly – it looks a bit like a broken square. This works for pretty much any online video, by the way, it’s not just for Joe Wicks or even just for YouTube. And then to come back out of full screen mode, use that same button again, but it’ll probably have changed to look more like a broken “+” symbol.