A Family Against the Flow: Emma's Exercise Experiments

I'm several years late with this but I finally downloaded the app to give it a go. I'm all about apps that get you outside walking/running, you've probably heard me lauding Zombies Run before. I wanted to include this in my exercise experiments because I think it's a great idea to make exercising fun.

I knew a bit about the app, Leigh played Pokemon Go for a while when it first came out before it ate up all her phone credit.

Just like the original games you have to catch Pokemon but this time you have to physically go out and find them. A map shows you Pokemon close to you and as you walk more appear on your map. Different areas have different Pokemon, rainy days produce different Pokemon and going somewhere like a forest or near a river produces different Pokemon. There's 360+ to catch. I've been playing for a couple of weeks and I've got about 80 so far.

A few days after I started I tore the cartilage in my knee and couldn't walk at all. I managed to catch a few Pokemon that appeared within range of our sofa. This is the second time I've hurt a knee and I knew this time I wanted to be back walking as soon as I could. The day after I hurt it I got on the crutches moving around the house and the day after that I made a short trip out to a local graveyard.

What a weird place to choose for a first walk out, you might think...but it has 4 Pokestops in it. Pokestops are where you collect items like Pokeballs and berries. Both essential in catching Pokemon. I took my phone and hobbled to the end of our street where the graveyard entrance is. Collected items from all 4 Pokestops and hobbled back. Now I had a reason to walk daily and I did. Not just daily but as my knee got better I walked to the graveyard 2, 3 and 4 times a day. JD often came with me, Leigh came a few times and even Erin came with me once.

It's a nice peaceful place to walk, away from the road and quite picturesque.

I feel like I know it really well now I've walked around it so many times. I like looking at the gravestones, reading the names, ages and dates.

Pokemon Go has given me a way of being active when I had little motivation to keep walking because of knee pain. It's speeded up my recovery by making me exercise my knee little and often.

I'm looking forward to my knee getting better so I can walk further to collect more Pokemon.

As well as catching Pokemon you can battle them in Gyms (there's one at the end of my street). You also get objectives to complete. Evolving Pokemon, collecting a certain type of Pokemon, hatching Pokemon eggs by walking and much more.

It's a fun game and it encourages you to be active whatever your fitness level. Hobbling, walking or running all work in hatching eggs and hunting down Pokemon.