When ?

I have until the 23rd September to get in shape. I am not too out of shape externally. There is a slight wobble when I walk lately and my chest is starting to move without me but overall I think it is ok. It is the inside that needs the work. I stopped smoking about 5 and a half years ago. One of the single acts I have ever done. I was and still am convinced that I will never smoke again. I fell into the trap that most people stopping smoking make. I thought that the moment I stopped I would become instantly fitter and healthier. The truth however is that I am probably not much better of than I was 5 years ago. 12 months after stoping i went swimming. Great exercise. When I smoked I could just about swim one length and then collapse on the side gasping for air and feeling as though an elephant was standing on my chest. So 12 months later after not one cigarette I expected to be able to swim 15 - 20 lengths without any problems.

So I set off and guess how many I did?


Yes 1 length. There was no elephant on the chest this time but the gasping was definatly there. I was pretty gutted but finally understood why I was no different. My lunks were like a pair of new balloons. If noone blows them up they stay the same. However, as soon as they are inflated they instantly stretch and reamain stretched ever when the air is let out. The same happened with my lungs. In the 12 months since I had stopped what had I done to stretch my lungs. Absolutely nothing.

This time however, I am going to do it properly.