OneAndOneIs2

So it's not exactly a secret that I have chronic pain issues that are basically down to postural issues. Being substantially over six foot probably doesn't help. Getting lots of movement in during the day does, tho.

Working as a programmer isn't great on the mobility front. So I've tried a few strategies to compensate, and three in particular are worth mentioning. As it happens, they all cost about the same.

Firstly, "Old Faithful" - the gym. Sixty quid a month. It's just up the road from where I live.

It definitely helps. If I miss more than a day I really feel it, and I generally feel a lot better after going. Biggest problem it has is taking a huge chunk out of my day - I went after work, and it meant that I didn't get home till 8pm. That's late.

So I switched to mornings - I had to get up earlier, and reduce the time spent there. So it's less effective. But at least I don't decide that I'm too tired to go on the way home if I go first thing.

Secondly, I bought some new shoes. The story behind them is slightly convoluted, but here goes: I went for a long walk a few weeks back when it was really hot, and just wore sandals. By the end of the walk, I had blisters on both feet. I was walking along the path, wincing a little, and suddenly the thought struck me: I was walking along a clean, flat path, beside some springy green grass. Why was I wearing these blister-causing sandals?

So I took them off and walked barefoot for a ways. And I noticed, instantly, that my whole posture and gait improved significantly. I probably did more good for my posture in the last quarter mile than I had in the whole hour's walk before.

Which makes sense, when you think about it - despite what trainer manufacturers would have you believe, humans evolved to do a hell of a lot more walking & running than we generally do today, and we didn't do it all with thick rubber foam stuck to our feet.

So when I got home, I looked up minimalist footwear - I was sure it had to exist, and I was right. And I ordered a pair of Feelmax shoes from Ten-Point

The first pair they sent was slightly too small, so I sent them back for the next size up. Both times they were very quick on delivery. The shoes are VERY lightweight and minimal - the soles are about a millimeter thick. They cost around the same as a month's gym membership.

I went for a jog in them yesterday. Took a little getting used to - you have to use a very different stride when you haven't got shock-absorbers on your feet. But once I got used to it, it was easy. I went on my shorter jogging route, which is around half an hour and covers all kinds of terrain.

It was very hard work - even factoring in that I'd done some heavy work in the garden; I'm a little out of practice; and it was blisteringly hot; there's no way that jog should take that much out of me. But you can't take long strides without padded soles, so you have to take lots of smaller ones - having a very long stride, this made for a big change for me.

When I got back, my legs were itchy as hell from several painfully unexpected brushes with brambles and stinging nettles, but my feet were, far from the pulverised aching mess that trainer adverts would have you expect, absolutely fine - better that they ever are in trainers, and I do my jogging in serious, professionally-fit trainers.

So: They're expensive, but no more than my trainers were. They make jogging harder, but the whole point of jogging is to get exercise. And they force you to maintain a better posture and gait: I felt more upright after five minutes jogging in these things than after an hour of jogging in trainers. And my feet felt way better: I tend to agree with the view that trainers cushion your feet from mistakes, so you make lots of little mistakes with each step, whereas minimalist shoes may mean that a mistake hits harder, but it massively reduces the number of mistakes.

Would you rather be fined a dollar a mile for a hundred miles, or five dollars a mile for five miles? kind of thing.

Finally, there's the Wii Fit Board that Tina bought last week.

Being a fan of the Wii, I was looking forward to having a go. I had my first experience Friday evening after a long day at work. It was impressively accurate in detecting that my posture was off-center, and annoying that it told me my fitness age was a decade above my actual age.

But then on Saturday, I had a go on it after getting back from the jog. And it was sensitive enough to detect the difference that a day of exercising had mad compared to a day of programming - it dropped my fitness age to a year UNDER my actual. Quite a difference.

So yes, it really is that sensitive. But more impressive was that half an hour of playing around with the games on Friday made me feel more aligned that an hour at the gym would have. It's a very impressive bit of kit if you have postural problems.

So, three different ways of spending sixty british pounds. How do they rate?

Well, in third place comes the gym: The cost is a recurring monthly expense, and it takes a lot of time.

Second, I'd have to say ditching trainers with thick soles. Seriously, try it out - running in soles so thin you can feel the texture of the road under you is an amazingly different experience.

And in first place, the Wii Fit board. It's very clever, very accurate, and more fun than either of the other two without having sacrificed any of the benefits.

Maybe after a week of gym, jogging, and Wii Fit practice, I won't need the two hour session at the gym with the physiotherapist I have book for next Saturday...