keeping fit Archives - Circles in the SandCircles in the Sand

Where my parents live is right next to a sizeable park, where there’s a cricket pitch, pathways, flowers, a play area and a duck pond.

It’s lovely – and a reminder that parklife in the UK is dotted with scenes and characters you never see in the UAE. On my visits to the park, I see joggers, dog walkers, gangs of scantily clad teenagers drinking alcopops, frisky lovers mauling each other in full view, and the odd Heineken-drinking, paper-bag-carrying fella – usually the only person who actually talks to me.

We take the boys to the park after dinner, to burn off energy under the ever-changing, summer evening sky. They go on their scooters, and I go on mine – with me trailing far behind my charges, but getting faster. (It’s amazing what an uncoordinated 42-year-old can master without breaking a hip!)

When my BF visited today, I told her: “I’ve discovered this great new way to exercise – a cardio workout you don’t even realise you’re doing until it’s DONE!

“You should try it!”

Not just for kids: BF gets a kick out of our grown-up sized scooter

BF, wearing a skirt and heels, rests one foot on the kick scooter, and gingerly pushes off. She wobbles a little, smiles (it’s impossible not to while attempting to balance, flail a leg and not fall over), then glides round in a semi-circle in the drive.

“But doesn’t it just exercise one leg?” she asks, getting the hang of it, even in nice shoes.

“You’ll see!” I respond. “Let’s go!”

With the boys blazing a trail, BF keeps up admirably while I bring up the rear on foot. There’s no stopping them – BF is hooked. They come to a skidding halt only after reaching the bandstand, where a brass band is playing, bringing some unexpected pomp and circumstance to the park.

“That was GREAT!” a breathless BF gasps afterwards, wiping beads of sweat from her brow. “And you’re right, the weight-bearing leg on the scooter works just as hard.” (Kids make balancing look easy – don’t be fooled.)

But it’s really fun to zoom along, not to mention join in with the children (and we all know how much they love that). If you’ve been wondering how to keep fit on a long vacation, remember, you heard it here first: kick-scooting in heels.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I do – sort of – go to the gym. I’ve been plugging away for a year or so now, although recently, I’ve discovered I can prop my kindle on the treadmill to snatch some reading time while strolling (briskly).

Whenever I come to England, I always imagine myself running outdoors instead – and, again, I do mean ‘running’ in the loosest sense of the word. My parents live a stone’s throw away from the local park, and gently jogging a lap or two around the cricket pitch, under the ever-changing sky with birds chirruping and dogs chasing sticks, sounds like the perfect antidote to the sterile gym.

Except it was too hot. Even at 7pm. My runs turned into a sweaty limp, with me practically staggering past gangs of scantily clad teenagers drinking alcopops and frisky lovers mauling each other in full view, hoping no one would laugh at my excuse of a jog or hear me panting.

Parklife in the UK, I remembered, is dotted with scenes and characters you just never see in the UAE. “Smile love – might never happen,” quipped a Heineken-drinking, paper-bag carrying fella the other day.

All this I actually find really fascinating – and the scenery IS nice – but then my mum told me that the leisure centre had been revamped and the new gym was now very state-of-the-art.

I took a look. I was seriously impressed. There were brand-new machines and contraptions I could only imagine were used to train astronauts, rows of bikes, and treadmills with large, multi-media screens (plus the all-important ledge for my kindle). The Olympic legacy was alive and well – with air conditioning and Costa Coffee next door!

So, now I have a four-week summer membership and I’m back exercising in the gym, keeping an eye on the calorie-count so I can whoop with joy when I’ve burnt off an apple.