My driving instructor, Mrs Wiles, was a real character. As a 17 year old I spent six fabulous months getting to know her, as she taught me to manoeuvre her car around the roads of suburban Surrey.
Like all novice drivers I found there was almost too much information to take on-board at the start. Coordination - especially with a manual gearbox - is key. Mrs Wiles had amazing phrases that helped her students to remember what to do. "Woodpecker!" she'd shout, if you'd forgotten to cancel the indicator. On twisty country lanes you'd be told "If you can't see stay in three. If you can see some more, get into four." which aided gear selection. Hill starts were always accompanied by "Squeeze, ease and hold. Squeeze the accelerator, ease the clutch and then hold them there m'dear." Ah! Happy memories. She really was unique.
This whole exercising correctly business is just as confusing as learning to drive was. Again there's lots of information to take on-board and remember. Over the past week Luke, at Luke Bremner Fitness, has introduced me to some 'helpful' phrases which are designed to assist me whilst I exercise. 'Start in neutral', 'Soft knees', 'Lots of chins', 'Back pocket' and 'Pencil' are gradually being engrained in my head.
Luke is still taking things at my pace - which I'm very thankful for - plus he's continuing to evaluate my overall posture, balance and flexibility. It's amazing how sharp his eye for detail is. Often it's the simple things that he gets me to do - like standing correctly - that have the biggest impact. Suddenly I'm finding that I'm walking around town with my head-up, shoulders back and chest out. I know it sounds a bit old-school, but I feel as though I've become a good five centimetres taller over the last few days.
I'm used to walking around Edinburgh as it's a relatively compact city and often find it faster than taking public transport at certain times of the day. Walking has been even higher on my agenda since starting my fitness regime. Patrick, a design chum of mine, showed me an app recently called Moves*. It has a beautifully simple timeline interface and is a breeze to use. What I've found astonishing, since buying the app, is just how far I walk each day. The app doesn't just cover walking, it automatically recognises when you run, cycle, or take some form of transport. You can add places and tell the app when you're in the gym. In addition you can export your data, which is all very clever indeed. If you're the owner of a smart phone and are looking for a pedometer with lots of additions, then I can certainly recommend Moves. For me, its already been worth the money I paid for it.
06 May 2014 - As a footnote to this blog Moves was recently acquired by Facebook. Despite assuring users that Moves would remain independent, updated Terms and Conditions enable Moves to pass personal data to Facebook. As a result I've removed the app from my phone and am now looking for a similar one which does the same thing.
I'm used to walking around Edinburgh as it's a relatively compact city and often find it faster than taking public transport at certain times of the day. Walking has been even higher on my agenda since starting my fitness regime. Patrick, a design chum of mine, showed me an app recently called Moves*. It has a beautifully simple timeline interface and is a breeze to use. What I've found astonishing, since buying the app, is just how far I walk each day. The app doesn't just cover walking, it automatically recognises when you run, cycle, or take some form of transport. You can add places and tell the app when you're in the gym. In addition you can export your data, which is all very clever indeed. If you're the owner of a smart phone and are looking for a pedometer with lots of additions, then I can certainly recommend Moves. For me, its already been worth the money I paid for it.
06 May 2014 - As a footnote to this blog Moves was recently acquired by Facebook. Despite assuring users that Moves would remain independent, updated Terms and Conditions enable Moves to pass personal data to Facebook. As a result I've removed the app from my phone and am now looking for a similar one which does the same thing.
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