Can Anything Replace a Childhood Sport?

Graphics: Sóley Ylja A. Bartsch

Translation: Lilja Ragnheiður Einarsdóttir

There is a cliché that says that really it should be easy to exercise so long as you find something that you enjoy doing. But what if we are unable to do the thing that brings us joy anymore? What if we don’t find anything else we want to do in its stead? It just so happens that I, unfortunately, find myself under these circumstances of no longer being able to pursue the exercise that filled my heart with joy and has had a hard time finding a replacement. This problem is often on my mind because, as we all know, exercise is good for you, not only physically but also mentally. 

What we often don’t realise about clichés is that they exist for a reason, namely that they are rooted in some seed of reality. We don’t need to force ourselves through an exercise that we do not enjoy, or spend an inordinate amount on, to live a “healthy” lifestyle. 

Recreating lost experiences 

Many of us surely know the feeling of having practiced a sport in primary or even secondary school and having to quit for some reason. For instance, I practiced ice-skating until the age of eighteen and I feel that few things measure up to hearing the creak of the ice under my skates, the feeling of leaping high up into the air and landing with such force that, if I’m not careful, could break my ankle. Spinning so fast that my hair whips my face and feeling the cold air on my skin despite feeling way too warm. 

Even though few things can recreate these experiences, I can break down the sport into pieces and notice what it truly was that I got out of practising it. I have always enjoyed focusing on technique, attempting certain jumps or moves, succeeding and seeing progress. That’s why dancing has always appealed to me and any movements that I could mix with others in rhythm to some music. I also miss the social aspect, to be part of a whole - going to practice was always to a large extent about the girls I was with and my relationship to the trainers. To encourage each other, see them make progress and get spurred on in return. 

Are we too old? 

With this in mind, I can consider what kind of exercise would suit me, knowing that I most enjoy working with techniques in a good group. I have tried different things such as yoga, climbing, hiking, cycling and despite enjoying all of them I have not been able to maintain any exercise regularly. I have therefore considered whether it might simply be impossible to immerse oneself in any single type of exercise this late in the game since I am already 24 years old. 

We can fulfil the needs with varied exercise 

But then I have realised that I don’t necessarily need a single sport to fulfil everything I got from ice skating. I can enjoy company when I go for hikes or try new things with my friends, I can focus on technique when I dance at home and I can feel the power that I once used for fast skating high jumps when I go for a jog or to the gym - which I seldom do alone so I also get the social aspect there. The key is just to find a good balance that works for each of us. 

If I can get carried away for a while, put aside the day’s activities and concentrate on what is happening at the moment, it doesn’t matter how demanding the exercise is or how much of it I do. I just need to do something that brings me joy and one of the three conditions I set for myself and my exercising. That way the exercise is good for me and makes me want to maintain it.