Old dog.

I'm so sick of that cat Gary, I'm moving on to another topic for now; old dogs. And by that, naturally, I mean me!

So can you teach an old dog new tricks?

If I was a dog, this really could be me!!!

I was contemplating exactly this as I practised my tennis serve last week.

Elle and I had 10 lessons over a few months late last year and even the coach said that what would really help was not more lessons, but more practice putting what we'd learnt into practice. Let's see how that goes in 2016! But while I was trying to serve with a grip that felt very unfamiliar, I did wonder how much you're expected to take out of lessons. I was told a lot of things over the 10 hours and I'm not convinced I retained that much at all.

We had a ski guide for half a day in Japan a couple of years ago. I'd previously avoided ski lessons. I know I'm pretty crap and about as stylish as baked beans on toast, but I'm also okay with that. I'm 'comfortable'. So it was a bit of a surprise when the guide turned out to be much more instructor than expected. Still, it did make me think a bit harder about technique although again, I'm not sure I retained a hell of a lot.

Last year I had my running technique reviewed in the hope I could lift my pace. I'm now quite the expert on the theory - but sadly, my practise isn't much improved. I know what I need to do and frankly, being a heck of lot fitter would probably be a good start!!

And finally there's rowing. Not exactly the kind of sport you can pop out and practice on your own, but with an hours intense coaching every week or two, I think that's the one activity that I have shown some significant improvement - or maybe it was just relative to where I started?!

Have you had lessons for anything? How much did you take away? Please share!