So, my whole ‘new year, new me’ campaign is continuing as alongside my adjustments and diet (more on that to come in my next blog) I’m also getting back into my exercise routine.

I’m generally quite an active person and always have been, but particularly as I get older & more aware of my body I know that for me ‘just being active’ is not enough. Yes I walk the dogs a couple of times a day, which I do love particularly in the spring and summer months but I still need to do something that gets my heart rate going and the blood pumping.

The trick is to find something that I enjoy so that it’s not such a chore for instance, I find it incredibly hard to motivate myself to go to the gym or to set out on a run. Believe me, I’ve had quite a few failed attempts to get into both of these activities in the past and I know all the excuses! But really thinking about why I’m exercising and what I want to achieve has helped me stay on track and if I’m flagging a bit or losing motivation it helps to remind myself of why I’m doing this.

Over the years I’ve settled on the fact that exercise classes work better for me, there’s definitely a camaraderie that you get within a group that really motivates me. Plus I’ve come to realise that you don’t have to be the best or perfect at it in spite of what you might think no one is actually watching you or cares if you get a move right or wrong, we’re all just there with the same goal of getting fit and enjoying ourselves.

So at the moment I’m really into my Zumba, I love Latin music and you get a great interval-style workout combining high and low intensity dance moves. It’s loud and noisy and above all fun, plus it’s close to my house and timed so I can nip in on my day off and after work which means I can’t use the excuse of having to travel there to duck out of it.

Getting back into an exercise routine hasn’t been easy for me. It’s helped to set myself mini-goals (weekly & monthly) on the way to achieving my desired end result and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am when I achieve them. Little setbacks don’t put me off completely any more, I guess it’s a change of mindset that I don’t have to be 100% perfect.

Please do share any tips you have for staying on target and what form of exercise works best for you, I’m always interested in trying out something new.

We can also share with you what exercises are ABC friendly. Read more about that here

See you around the office with a hop in my step