The eternal dilemma

I used to do a lot of sport. I was doing at least 5 sessions a week, plus time in the gym (usually cycling or rowing machines). I had a good level of fitness and muscular strength, and everything was fine. Then I started getting sore hips when I was walking home from school. Then my knees joined in. Then my ankles, not wanting to be left out, also started hurting. After several visits to the doctor, a probable pain-killer addiction and several blood tests for arthritis, I was finally referred to physio. After 2 sessions it was concluded I had weak ankles, weak hamstrings, and weak gluteus medius (the muscle connecting the quads to the gluteus maximus.) Finally with a diagnosis, I was able to start exercises to stop it all hurting. Unfortunately, I was also told that I should stop doing all sports. Really, everything? Yes. I needed rest while I built them up apparently.

I very quickly adjusted to having lots of free time, to lazing around, and started losing fitness and putting on weight. This was my downfall. Since then, I haven’t gone back to doing very much.

However, a couple of years after I did the physio, my aches and pains are back. I’m still doing the exercises, but I’m also trying to start running, very unsuccessfully. After a crippling run 2 nights ago, I’ve decided to go for the low impact, high cardio, high muscular workout of swimming. It seems like my only other option here, as I want a low impact but high cardio workout. Unfortunately, I also wanted a free one. Running covers that, but is high impact. Swimming is low impact, but will cost me money, and lots of it over a long period of time. There is also the problem of my eczema. Despite settling down a bit, I still have it, and no doubt copious amounts of time in a pool will dry my skin out and aggravate it even more. This is my dilemma.

I’m hoping to go for my first swim at the weekend. Fingers crossed eh?