ŅSwimming For The Body ConsciousÓ
By Julian Nagi
– British Gas Swim Coach/Ambassador.
Without doubt most
of us have experienced periods during our life where we have suddenly become
extremely body conscious, particularly when it comes to playing sport. These issues may have occurred for a
number of reasons but rest assured we all have them. I think I am qualified to
say this because as a coach for
over 10 years ive trained people of all shapes and sizes. What has been
clear to me is we ALL have issues we struggle with on a daily basis, so if you
think you are alone in the way feel
you are very much mistaken. This is particularly evident in certain sports
where people are confronted with situations or environments where the feel
totally uncomfortable and self conscious.
For many people one
of the sports that creates the biggest barrier for participation is swimming,
this is understandable because it requires you to take most of your clothes off
! This is incredibly distressing for me as a coach to hear because its means
that there are many people out there that are missing out on an amazing sport
that can enrich your lives in so many ways.
I came to the British
Gas head office recently to
help promote the London Swimmerfun event, an
incredibly exciting swimming event for all employees and their families to get
together and have a really fun day. It was clear from speaking to people that
they thought it was a great idea, most said they would come along but it was
striking how many people when asked if they would particpate im some of the
events on the pool actually said noÉ.and were actually quite firm about it! The
main reason was clearÉthe thought of putting on a swimming costume on again (particularly in front of colleagues) was
a big no no.
Although I have
never had an issue with getting into a pool or parading around in a pair of speedos
( I actually thank my dear mum for this because she had me in a pair of these
and in a swimming pool before I could crawl !) There is a situation when I was
a teenager when that I will never forget, this was the first time I went into a
gymÉ.well I almost didnÕt go in because I was too terrified! Im sure this must
be the same for many potential swimmers out there. I was 15 at the time and
remember peering in through the small window in the doors and seeing all of
these ŅfitÓlooking people purposely going about their business. My heart was
racing, my palms were sweaty and I thought what the hell do I do when I go in
there ?!. These nerves were largely due to the fact that I was a scrawy kid who
was extremely body conscious. I had no muscle and I was convinced that everyone
would be looking at me when I went in and laughing at how puny I looked. It
didnÕt take me long to realise this but I couldnÕt have been more wrong.
Once you break
through that first initial barrier of the dreaded first session the rest is so
much easier. I qucikly realised after a few more sessions that actually
everyone in the gym was so focussed on what they were doing that they had no
interest in what a scrawny teenager like me was up to. In fact I would
actually say most of the people
were far more interested in looking at themselves in the mirror than at anyone
else !
This is eactly the
same with swimming and I speak as a coach with of over 10 years experience of training
people of all levels in the swimming pool. Once you cross that first barrier of
that first sessson then it quite simply opens up a whole new world to you and
one which is nowhere near as intimidating than you originally thoughtÉin fact I
would say it is actaully more liberating than anything else!
So thatÕs why I
decided to write this article, I wanted to try and connect with potential
wannabe swimmers out there within British Gas in a way that might encourage you
to take the plunge and get more involved in swimming. Swimming is a wonderful
sport as many British gas employees have found out during the sponsorship of British
Swimming, the reach has been far and wide and many people have been touched and
inspired by the sponsorship. For some it has even been life changing.
The other
important reason you should swim is
because it is incredibly good for you, not only can it get you fit but it can
also help with weight loss and muscle toning and dramatically reduce the risk
of getting heart disease, strokes and diabetes. In fact there is no other sport
that you can do where the chances of picking up injuries are so low because
water supports your bodyweight, this in turn protects your joints and bones.
To prove that this
barrier can be broken I asked some of our amazing BG swimmers and swim heroes
to contribute something to this article, most importantly I wanted them to
write about their own personal experiences of how they overcame these fears.
You will see a lot of people came forward with some very inspiring stories that
will hopefully touch you in some way and help you make that first step of
getting back in the pool. These are real experiences by real people who have
experienced many of the hang ups most people have about their bodies. In fact I found it very inspiring that
so many people wanted to write in such an open way, when you see this you really do fully
appreciate how positive an affect swimming has had on their lives. Quite simply
they want others to experience the same joy they have experienced and this is
the reason for them writing.
Hope you enjoy
reading some of these stories below, ive also inlcuded my top ten tips for
helping you overcome these fears. Look forwatd to seeing you at the poolÉ.and
soon ! ;+)
JulianÕs Top 10 Tips
AdieÕs StoryÉ.
In August 2010 I paid for
a BUPA-stylee "full MOT". I remember the results discussion
with the GP quite vividly as it was genuinely a life changing moment for me.
"...Type 2 Diabetes...dangerously high blood pressure...high
cholesterol...blood and protein in urine... Clinically Obese Body Mass Index
score..."
I really wasn't expecting
that at 35 years old.
On the drive home I
remember running through all the "excuses" in my head... I work long hours, I've got big bones, I
don't have time to exercise, I've got a high stress job, my knees hurt when I
run, I'm too fat to hit the gym, I'm too unfit to hit the gym. The
harsh reality was I was 20 stone, a 42-inch
waist with a weekly exercise regime that peaked at reading a paper whilst my
kids ran round the park on a Sunday morning.
So I bought some new gym
kit and trainers and marched off down to my local sports center for a
"free trial and induction". I really didn't enjoy it. The
gym equipment was complicated, my knees hurt when I tried anything and, worst
of all, I felt really self-conscious because I appeared to be surrounded by
thinner, fitter people who knew what they were doing! The gym instructor
didn't really help either; "It's meant to hurt", "you need to
work hard to get results"...
I didn't go back.
It was about that time
that I just happened to catch an article on the intranet at work from the BG
Swimming Team, saying that I could get discounted swims and memberships at the
Spelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines. My gut reaction was, "there's no way I'm wandering about in
Speedo's" but I went down one lunchtime
and had a look. The first thing I noticed was it was pretty quiet.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the pool was divided into slow, medium and
fast lanes and there wasn't any instructors on the side screaming the virtues
of "no pain - no gain!" I got up half an hour early the next
morning and went along.
The single biggest hurdle happened
that morning when I stood, "budgees a'smuggled" as the Aussie's would
say, ready to walk out of the changing room into the
pool area. I thought, "OMG - everyone's going to look at me!"
and I froze for a few minutes trying to motivate myself to go for it. I
did. Everyone did look... for about 2 seconds, with goggles on, and
then got back to their swimming. Contrary to my pals
beliefs the water didn't wash out when I got in and Greenpeace weren't ready to
through me back in when I finished!
The great thing about
swimming for me is my knees don't hurt and I can go at my own pace. I got
pretty immediate results too, losing a stone in the first 6 weeks without
changing my diet at all! I'm now about 9 months into it and regularly
swim 3 mornings a week. I've used the free BG swim coaching to improve my
technique and have even signed up for 2 of this years
BG Great Swim open water events. I'm now 3 stone down on August last year
and my health problems are all under control without any medication.
Stepping out of the
changing room in SpeedoÕs for the first time was tough, but breaking through
the initial exercise barrier was enough for me to keep going back. The
key for me was using the health assessment shock to reflect on my lifestyle.
JustinÕs Story
The whole reason I am
taking part in the swimming competition (aside from my competitive nature of
course) is to lay a 25-year-old ghost to rest.
Let me take you back to
the heady days of 1986, Tom CruiseÕs ego was writing cheques his body couldnÕt
cash in Top Gun, Chris De Burgh was Ōlooking for a little romanceÕ with his
Lady in Red & a cheating little Argentinean dashed the hopes of a nation
with his ŌHand of GodÕ.
There was a slightly
lesser sporting event also taking place in 1986, The Dukinfield High School
Swimming Gala. All the best swimmers in the school
would be there, with one notable exception É me. Why I
hear you ask, why would you not take part and claim glory in front of all your
school mates, perhaps even attracting the attention of a certain girl you had
your eye on? Well IÕll tell you for why, because I was a fat kid and as a fat
kid I was thoroughly embarrassed about appearing in front of people undressed.
When I first started at the school, at the very first swimming lesson, the
teacher took one look at my chubby frame and sent me straight to the ŌuselessÕ
group – this despite the fact that I had my gold medal (achieved at 8
years old, one of the youngest in the area). Of course when I hit the water and
took off like Duncan Goodhew (well a smaller, fatter hairier version), they had
to move me up to the top class.
So I didnÕt compete,
didnÕt get the girl, gave up swimming & stood at the side with all the
other spectators cursing my body and vowing one day to right this wrong!
Fast forward to 2011
IÕm sat at my desk working
away (well, IÕm sat at my desk) when IÕm approached by Dan
Green (top office swimmer & all round decent chap). HeÕs holding
something round and shiny in his hand. I still to this day donÕt know what it was
– but in his other hand he was holding an Olympic gold medal. To be
precise it was the one and only Duncan GoodhewÕs 1980 gold medal from Moscow.
My first thought was that he had nicked it, slippery character that he is *only joking Dan*– but then I saw the great man
himself striding towards us. My God, Duncan Goodhew is coming over to talk to
me (just to clarify, he was in the office promoting the British Gas Swimmerfun,
not just randomly loitering around Stockport ASC). Unfortunately, the first
thing I mentioned to him was my first memory of him – not his
awe-inspiring Olympic victory but his 1981 appearance on Game for a Laugh when
he had to put his head in a box & members of the public had to put their
hands in and guess what it was. He didnÕt take offence though, in fact he said
it brought him a load more appearances & was a nice little earner. Anyway,
it was then, right at that moment, like a bolt of lightening, like Saul /
PaulÕs epiphany on the road to Damascus, like that bit in Field of Dreams when
Kevin Costner decides to build a baseball stadium in his back field (well
alright, not like that but you get the idea) – I thought
YES, I WILL SWIM!
Many weeks, bruises,
cramps, pulled muscles & several pints of swallowed pool water later, I
wish I would have kept my mouth shut É but thatÕs another story.
So swim I did –
admittedly, IÕm no longer the chubby little 12 year old I was back in 86, many
years of dieting and weight-training sorted that out – in fact people now
say, rather ironically, that I could do with putting some weight on. But
believe you me, walking out in front of all your colleagues with nothing more
than a pair of budgie smugglers between you and your altogether was no mean
feat. I felt the fear of that 12-year-old kid – but only for a second.
Once I saw everyone else, all sizes, all shapes, all abilities – and felt
the warmth from the spectators, colleagues, friends, family, all there to
support people who have put themselves forward and made an effort, it made it
all worth while. In fact, IÕm now in training for the finals in September &
I have absolutely no worries about how I look or what people think about how I
look because the people there donÕt care. They are there to support and
encourage my participation, not judge & criticize how I look. The only
thing IÕm worried about now is how to catch Dan Ōthe dolphinÕ Green.
So in closing (and I realize
itÕs been a long and emotional journey for us all), IÕd just like to say I know
the fear, pain, humiliation & low self esteem that can be caused by the
thought of being in a state of undress in public. I have however also
experienced the joy, motivation, power and self-confidence that comes with overcoming those fears. I know it isnÕt easy, but
believe me when I say that of the two states I have just described, the latter
is a much, much better place to be. So if you are thinking about going
swimming, or any other activity for that matter where you may be worried what
other people think of you – just remember (trying not to come over all
Oprah Winfrey on you) what other people think is of no importance, what you
think of yourself is what matters & I guarantee that if you take that first
step and confront your fear (whatever it may be), you will start to think a
whole lot more about yourself & the more you do it & the more your
confidence grows, the better you will feel until, like me, (just think Kevin
Spacey when heÕs finishing his speech about Keyser Soze in The Usual Suspects)
É *pooof* the fear is gone.
To steal a phrase (&
hope I donÕt get sued) – Just do it!
See you in the pool.
AngieÕs storyÉ.
LetÕs
face it- getting practically naked in front of your colleagues isnÕt top of
your Ņto doÓ list. I used the gym
in the Windsor office once, years ago, and was very much put off by being
questioned about my work by someone else who was completely starkers. I have
never used the facility again. So I
was naturally reluctant to start swimming in the British Gas squad.
Add to
this that I am recently back at work after my second child and coming to terms
with a new (or should we say more wobbly?) body shape, and actually itÕs quite
a hurdle to pluck up the courage to take the plunge. But I am so pleased that I
did. ItÕs been highly rewarding to learn a new skill and also give myself some
ŅmeÓ time. ItÕs not easy to factor in exercise being a full time working mother
of two toddlers, and being supported in doing this by British Gas has really
spurred me into action. I notice
now that I may be watching my colleagueÕs swim stroke with interest, but what
they look like in a swim suit is not a factor at all. And anyway- weÕre not
visible in the water for most of the lesson. So if you would like to join in
but are at all self conscious, I can recommend giving it a go. After the first
step out of the changing room you wont pay any attention to the fact that you,
or anyone else is in a swim suit.
SteveÕs storyÉ.
There is an old saying -
'people would not worry about what other people
thought of them if they only realized how
rarely they did' - to which I
subscribe. I am normally quite observant
and was quite shocked that one
of my colleagues lost 22kg in about 6
months and I did not even notice -
oops! He did not look overweight
before the weight loss and looks about
the same to me now ... I think we all
feel others are looking at us and
judging us far more than they actually do
.... so just relax and dive in.
SimbaÕs storyÉ.
Unfortunately, swimming
attire does not leave very much to the
imagination. That said, that may not be a
bad thing in the sense that
if there is a part of your physique
which you wish to transform, there's
nowhere to hide it when you're wearing a
costume/trunks. It may well be
the motivation one needs to take action.
In a work context, I think
there's very little to be worried about when
wearing swimming stuff amongst colleagues.
To put things in
perspective, I've been swimming on and off since
primary school, and
going through the teenage phase was far
more of an ordeal than anything
one has to deal with as an adult. I
think we're all mature enough to be
respectful towards each other, and well aware
that we're all outside our
comfort zones to some extent.
If you can find the
courage to bite the bullet, and realize that we're
generally our own worst critics, it's an
incredibly healthy and
fulfilling way to keep fit.
AlisonÕs storyÉ
To say IÕm body conscious
would be a bit of an understatement. Friendships have nearly been lost
over sneaky photos taken without my knowledge, and I refused to go outside for
days after seeing pictures from my brotherÕs wedding. So the thought of
donning a swimming costume for the first time since my teenage years was a
somewhat daunting prospect to say the least.
Being allergic to anything
involving running (witness my disastrous attempts at early morning jogging),
swimming was the obvious choice when looking to start a fitness regime,
especially as itÕs easy on the joints. However, since my concessions to
summer weather usually include shorter sleeve tops and ever so slightly cropped jeans (IÕm with the Victorians on this
one!) the thought of parading around in front of other people in a skimpy piece
of lycra was enough to put me off before I even
started.
Following a quick bit of
research on the internet, I was armed with a swanky new costume designed to
hold all of my Ōwomanly curvesÕ in the right place, whilst still being suitable
for fitness, rather than holiday, purposes (making a wardrobe malfunction less
likely). Clinging onto my towel for dear life until the last possible
second, I decided to bite the bullet and wobbled gingerly onto poolside and
into the relative safety of the water. It was then I realized:
a) no-one
was staring at me aghast
b) my
fellow swimmers were all shapes (most of them irregular), sizes and ages
c) being
of athletic build is no guarantee of confidence/elegance in the pool
A slim, sporty friend of
mine plagued by her own body hang-ups at first now looks forward to her
relaxing weekly swimming session, whilst IÕve recently taken things up a notch
by entering the Swimmerfun event. LetÕs face it, no one wants to stroll
about in swimwear in front of work colleagues on a Saturday night, especially
when thereÕs a photographer present! However, a quick purchase of some
swim leggings to enabled me to brave the poolside and try my luck at 50m
sprints again which was hugely enjoyable. CanÕt promise I wonÕt
confiscate the photos though...........
JasonÕs StoryÉ.
I used to dread going to the pool..
the walk to the swimming pool from the changing
used to feel like the longest walk in your life. All those
thoughts going in your head. Can they see through my swim suite, do I
look fat in this, IÕve got no make up on do they think I look rough? I hope I
donÕt slip or make a fool of myself. You have think positive and really
understand no one is watching you, they are not at the pool to make fun of you
and no one cares what you look like. Once you see through that you can
really enjoy swimming. It works every part of your body and you feel good every
time you swim.