A Heavy Breather Saved My Life

Talk about being totally unfit!

I realised how unfit I was when, in my 20s, I was walking along a busy main road, when I noticed a motorist had broken down.

“Could you give me a push please?” he asked.

“Yeah, no problem” I replied, and began to push the car up the slight incline.

Well, I puffed

…and panted

…paused to breathe.

And then pushed a little more

…until finally, the car was over the brow of the hill.

I began to run as the car picked up speed, still pushing, still panting.

“Come on!” I gasped…

“It should be starting by now.”

Eventually, the car spluttered into life, and the grateful motorist drove away, waving a hand to show his gratitude to this totally exhausted young man – who by now had almost collapsed on the floor.

I’ll always owe gratitude to that chap.

He probably saved my life. Or at least extended it.

Huh? I don’t get it…

He almost killed you, David.

How can you say he probably saved your life?

Well, on that day I realised how unfit I was.

It had been a number of years since school days, so with no compulsory physical education lessons to attend, I’d neglected to look after number one.

So what did I do about it?

First of all, I learned to swim. Then tried to do that as a regular exercise.

Later I discovered that gyms weren’t just for muscle clad hunks. They were for ordinary blokes like me too.

So I built up a level of fitness.

And… I have to say…. felt much better for it.

It allowed me to climb mountains such as Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike (did that last one to celebrate my 50th birthday).

Why am I telling you this?

To boast?

No! Not at all.

Simply to say this:

It’s not difficult to get back to a reasonable level of fitness.

And you know what?

A cruise is an ideal time to get – or maintain – a level of fitness.

A cruise…? Don’t people gain weight on a cruise?

Yes, it’s possible to gain weight on a cruise. But there’s lots of healthy food available – so there’s no reason to gain weight.

And most cruise ships have a gym.

Even if you’ve never been to a gym in your life, they have instructors who will help you improve fitness, lose a few pounds, get into shape …whatever your goal.

There are swimming pools too.

Granted, you’re not going to find an Olympic sized pool on a cruise ship.

But swimming a few lengths of any pool is better than nothing!

If you enjoy walking (or even if you can endure it), the Promenade Deck is a great place to walk.

An early morning walk with your partner or a friend is a great way to exercise.

And then there are the stairs. Taking the stairs up to deck 15 will get the ol’ heart rate going.

Now I’m not a doctor. So I’m certainly not qualified to give you any medical advice.

So here’s the disclaimer:

Make sure you take qualified medical advice before embarking on any physical activity.

But once you’ve got the all clear, and you increase your level of fitness on a cruise….

You’ll be glad you went on that cruise…

For much more than the food and the scenery.

You’ll enjoy life more too!