Walking Football (3 replies)
I know there's plenty on here of a certain age ( the average age of posters, I believe, is around mid fifties). Anyway, just putting a shout out here for the benefits of walking football.
I retired about 18 months back and, looking around for stuff to fill the time, one thing I eventually plucked up the courage to do was walking football. Have to say it was the best decision I made last year. It's made such a difference to my fitness level, my social life and just general well being and mental health.
I know there's still a lot of people who think it's a bit of a joke sport - a load of old codgers tapping a ball around- but honestly, it's not half as pedestrian as it might appear; you're still doing all the twisting, turning, crouching and stretching (although on the stretching you learn very quickly to be careful).. It's a proper workout. The first few times I did it, I was well and truly fecked for a couple of days afterwards. But that gets better as those muscles you might not have used for decades begin to wake up.
Anyway, just putting it out there for people of a certain age who miss the fun and camaraderie of playing when younger. Give it a go.
By the way, this isn't some appeal to try to get numbers to bolster some dying sport that's struggling to recruit; the numbers playing it are growing by the week- my local group are having to increase the number of sessions to cater for demand. It's a great leveller too; there's plenty of players who've played 'proper' football to a decent standard alongside the likes of me who rarely got any higher than Sunday afternoon leagues, and there's plenty worse than me.
If you think you'd like to give it a try, I'm not sure there's a comprehensive list of local groups on the net, but I'm sure you'll find one with a quick google search or asking at your local leisure centre. I'd like to think that having read this there'll be at least one chap ( or chapess- there's plenty of women only or mixed sessions) who'll decide to get involved and, if so, I'll have done my good deed for the day., because I'm sure, once you've played it once, you'll be hooked. KRO
I retired about 18 months back and, looking around for stuff to fill the time, one thing I eventually plucked up the courage to do was walking football. Have to say it was the best decision I made last year. It's made such a difference to my fitness level, my social life and just general well being and mental health.
I know there's still a lot of people who think it's a bit of a joke sport - a load of old codgers tapping a ball around- but honestly, it's not half as pedestrian as it might appear; you're still doing all the twisting, turning, crouching and stretching (although on the stretching you learn very quickly to be careful).. It's a proper workout. The first few times I did it, I was well and truly fecked for a couple of days afterwards. But that gets better as those muscles you might not have used for decades begin to wake up.
Anyway, just putting it out there for people of a certain age who miss the fun and camaraderie of playing when younger. Give it a go.
By the way, this isn't some appeal to try to get numbers to bolster some dying sport that's struggling to recruit; the numbers playing it are growing by the week- my local group are having to increase the number of sessions to cater for demand. It's a great leveller too; there's plenty of players who've played 'proper' football to a decent standard alongside the likes of me who rarely got any higher than Sunday afternoon leagues, and there's plenty worse than me.
If you think you'd like to give it a try, I'm not sure there's a comprehensive list of local groups on the net, but I'm sure you'll find one with a quick google search or asking at your local leisure centre. I'd like to think that having read this there'll be at least one chap ( or chapess- there's plenty of women only or mixed sessions) who'll decide to get involved and, if so, I'll have done my good deed for the day., because I'm sure, once you've played it once, you'll be hooked. KRO