At what age do we forget the joy of movement?

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stumblinthrulife
stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I see my daughter running around randomly, making obstacle courses and doing laps of the house, and I wonder exactly when we lose that joy of movement for movement's sake?

Wouldn't life be better if we could all just run around like maniacs on the spur of the moment just for the fun of it? Why does being a grown up have mean being so boring?

Replies

  • auzziecawth66
    auzziecawth66 Posts: 479 Member
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    I would say that I lost this joy of movement around the 5th grade when we got cable t.v. That one little thing change everything. I have wondered many times how different my life and habits would be right now if we never got cable...
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I'm trying to figure out how we went from kids that ran all the time to adults that post "how do I start running" threads in the forums everyday
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    I kept getting yelled at when I knocked things over.

    Actually, on a good day, we will do this kind of thing - mirror each other if we pass on our chores; imitate spider mating dances...but we are generally silly folk.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    I'm trying to figure out how we went from kids that ran all the time to adults that post "how do I start running" threads in the forums everyday

    Precisely
  • sjstick
    sjstick Posts: 12 Member
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    College and beer age. LOL
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    I see my daughter running around randomly, making obstacle courses and doing laps of the house, and I wonder exactly when we lose that joy of movement for movement's sake?

    Wouldn't life be better if we could all just run around like maniacs on the spur of the moment just for the fun of it? Why does being a grown up have mean being so boring?

    I have only ever felt joy moving in the water (I think I am part fish) :wink: What is sad is that my weight caused me to be too embarrassed to go to the one place where I could start to deal with my weight--the pool. Now, I go every Monday and every Friday for an hour---and I love it. The best part is that everyone else looks just like me, so I don't have to feel ashamed anymore (and I've lost another 17 pounds since I started going--in addition to the 34 pounds I had lost before that.) :happy:
  • WithWhatsLeft
    WithWhatsLeft Posts: 196 Member
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    I like this thought and find it quite relevant in my life right now.

    When I do some kind of cardio, I do get happy. When I warm up and begin lifting, same thing. I watch my HRM and feel the thrill.

    Endorphin high? I'm not sure but it reminds me of running around like a little kid on the playground. Being a total goofy dork and loving it. Just moving. I smile when I run. It's fun again.
  • sohmui
    sohmui Posts: 108 Member
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    Interesting subject. I still sometimes, though not very often, run around my small flat doing my chores. Seventy-two years old this year so maybe into second childhood. :smile:
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
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    For me it was Junior High School Gym class. This is where movement went from something that I could do unselfconsciously and with joy to something that made me feel constantly embarrassed and incompetent. Playing team sports with adolescent boys is not the route to finding joy in movement. I think this was also the period when forms of movement that I had enjoyed, like dance and sports, became the exclusive domain of certain types of kids.

    I'm always amazed, in discussions of childhood obesity, how much hand wringing there is about the lack of gym classes. For me, all gym class did was make me never want to participate in a physical activity again. I know it doesn't have to be that way, that gym classes could be fun, encouraging, and inclusive, but, for me, once I left elementary school, I never had a gym class that met any of those criteria.
  • MidwestAngel
    MidwestAngel Posts: 1,897 Member
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    tumblr_lybsyj7AxW1qzt1yyo1_400_zps64c5c0e0.gif
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    For me, it wasn't an age so much as it was pregnancies. I wasn't able to move well after two back-to-back c-sections. (21 months apart) Then I got used to not moving and letting people do things for me. It became a habit after a doing it for a couple of years.

    Since I've lost so much weight, I can move around a lot better. The more I lose, the easier it is to move my body the way I want. :bigsmile:
  • Coquette6
    Coquette6 Posts: 158 Member
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    I was never a kid that ran around a lot. I was short, skinny, physically awkward and so "play" was usually just a time to be reminded that all the other kids were bigger, faster and stronger than I was. Given the choice, I'd always choose to sit and read and I loved the days when it was raining and we had to have recess and lunch time inside so I could just sit and read. Gym class didn't help that much, because the other kids would never pass me the ball, I'd get knocked down... You get the picture. Then came juniour high which started every gym class with running and about a minute into it, I'd wind up with agonizing side stitches and the teacher never seemed to believe I was actually in pain (I still get these while running if I'm not really careful to control my breathing and pace).

    The only joy of movement I ever had (until recently) was in high school when I started horseback riding.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I'm trying to figure out how we went from kids that ran all the time to adults that post "how do I start running" threads in the forums everyday

    Or worse...the adults that comment back, "Don't let your kid run with you! They might get hurt!"
  • deniseblossoms
    deniseblossoms Posts: 373 Member
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    Not sure when I lost it, but definitely find it when I'm on my bike or doing some hiking:)
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Not sure when I lost it, but definitely find it when I'm on my bike or doing some hiking:)

    I think that's the key, isn't it? Finding something we LIKE to do. For me, exercising was always a boring chore---it needs to be fun or we won't stay with it. For one person it is hiking, for another, horseback riding, and for another it is running. Why do we allow our culture to ruin it for our kids?
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    who has forgotten that? how sad!
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
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    I think its when you become body conscious. I know for me I lost the joy of sport and activity when the purpose became all about weight loss instead of performance and competition. I'm glad to say I've got that back now...
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    i'll be 40 this year and I still have it. Use it or lose it, baby
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    I'm always amazed, in discussions of childhood obesity, how much hand wringing there is about the lack of gym classes. For me, all gym class did was make me never want to participate in a physical activity again. I know it doesn't have to be that way, that gym classes could be fun, encouraging, and inclusive, but, for me, once I left elementary school, I never had a gym class that met any of those criteria.

    I didn't have them in elementary school, either! Nearly always focused on boring calisthenics or team sports, and I have mediocre co-ordination and HATED team sports. I never had a gym teacher take me saide and show me how to throw a ball or hit one better, or help me to improve at anything. Well, maybe now I know how the academically average kids felt, watching the gifted ones get all the attention.

    Fortunately, at home I was free to ride my bike or go to the local pool and I haven't forgotten the joy of either of those and I'm 60. I still feel like I'm 12 when I'm on a bicycle.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    I blame the public school system honestly. After better than a decade of of the formative years being spent as 'sit down and shut up', does it really shock you that most people remain in this state?

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