I am fortunate enough to live about 40 minutes from some of the best beaches in the entire world (IMHO) - the west coast of Australia does boast some of the cleanest sand I have ever seen, not to mention some great surf (for the surfie dudes out there) and even better at this time of year, not many people at 8am.

We took two cars, dropped one off at one carpark - drove to another car park several kilometres away - then walked back to the other one...on the sand. I kept my runners on, simply because too many injuries means I struggle with my feet and knees these days. But that's just me. It only took about 40 minutes, but was probably worth several hours of "normal" road work. And I know it worked, because my right sciatic is now playing up !! and my thighs are emitting a nice after burn feeling.

But of course I didn't stop there, after breakfast and some much needed coffee, we parted ways. My weekends are usually hectic and this one is no different. Groceries to fetch, car to clean (inside and out) a house to tidy, weeds to pull (I do a bin full each week - that's the trouble with a big garden, there's always enough gardening to fill a bin each week with weedy stuff)...and now I am ready to start work again. I shall probably pick up some additional exercise this afternoon, just because my body is feeling a little sluggish and is looking a little worse for wear after a winter of doing just enough but not quite enough to make major changes.

But what happens if you don't have a beach to walk on? Well one of the more interesting ways for entire family to get fit is to get yourself a frisbee, find some nice open space and go chuck the disc around. Or how about learning how to juggle. Believe me, the amount of times you have to bend over to pick up the little balls is just not funny and believe me if you use your legs to squat rather than bend over every time, you will probably have the tightest butt in a very short space of time. Or given that we are moving into winter in the norther hemisphere - why not get those exercise videos out and have a go. Forget about the bad hair do's and leotards, and go for the burn. And if nothing else you will have a good laugh at the hair and clothing styles in vogue at the time.

Go on, mix it up a little, and have fun and laughter too - you will feel better for it.

It's currently winter here in Perth, WA. We've had more rain in the past week than we've had all winter, and the wind has been straight off the antarctic - cold, bone chillingly cold. I've also picked up an ear, throat and chest infection that doesn't seem to want to go away inspite of anti-biotics. But I've carried on doing some kind of exercise anyway. Some of you may consider that to be foolhardy - but the reason why is a simple one. Stopping all levels of exercise means it takes you three times longer to get back into it. The excuses come thick and fast - and before you know it, that muscle tone you'd developed has gone and you're back to square one.

You see fitness isn't something you can do once or twice, stick it in a bottle and save it for a rainy day.

Like all forms of motivation, fitness is something you need to put into your weekly plan and do it regardless of how you are feeling. It is one appointment with yourself that you should always keep.

So what exercise do I do?

Well I walk 2-4 times a week - and by walk, I mean getting out of breath kind of walking, not the strolling around the shops kind of saunter that we also do. Distance varies - for example - Two Saturday's ago I did approximately 15km's around the bridges. If you go to the gallery you will see the pictures and the area - beautfiul walk. Monday nights are 8km's and just around the suburbs where I live. Tuesday's and Thursday's I do a shortened 4km walk and Wednesday night I was at Dance class. Last Saturday and Sunday I didn't walk, but spent most of the weekend moving roadbase - as I am remodelling the back yard. Another weekend of weed pulling awaits. My neighbours "cheated" and used a mini digger this morning to remove their garden....me I prefer the personal touch as it also gets me out of the house and into the fresh air and keeps me fit at the same time.

One thing I did notice that my fitness levels are really quite good. I would work hard for about 40 minutes, moving road base, picking, shovelling, carrying, digging, bending over, strength training at its most interesting. Then I would stop when I started to "blow" - have a breather and then get back into it, another 40 minutes - another breather. And over the course of about 5 hours managed to get one third of the garden completed. Once the final part of the path is laid, the workload becomes a bit easier - planting and mulching. But the satisfaction of knowing that I did it, and kept me fit at the same time is definitely a chance to pat myself on the back.

Which is why my weekends are as busy as my working weeks. Exercise opportunities are slotted into my timetable and I try not to break the appointments I've made with myself.

But if you struggle - consider these tricks:

1. Exercise with a friend
2. Exercise at the same time every day / day of the week
3. Pay for classes up front - you will be less likely to waste money if you think about how much it's cost you
4. Do something weird, wonderful and downright scary...for me it is pole dancing. The thought of inverting still gives me the trembles as I'm not sure my upper body and more importantly - my arm (which I hurt in dance class BTW) will hold me yet....but I will get there.
5. Smile and give it all you've got for the alloted time. Think about the payoffs in endorphin rushes and go for it.
   

Gym work is all very well, but you can get off a gym bike at any time and go and do something else. One thing with road work is this - unless you want to catch the bus home, you are going to have to ride home as well as ride there....which is of course why I ride / run circuits,. less chance of getting bored, plug in the MP3 player and away you go.

Which is something to consider if you do get bored - choose a route that takes in different scenery....otherwise you might be tempted to give up half way and go back....and I don't like to admit defeat. Even if my lungs / legs and butt all thought I was trying to torture them this morning. I could have stopped a couple of kilometres from home, and gone - someone come and pick me up....but I didn't...I pushed harder, rather than slow down. The mind soon stopped misbehaving....well when your muscles are screaming, the mind can't focus on anything else can it?

My daughter wanted to know when we were going running again? So, after a 37 degree day and humidity that came as the temperatures dropped - we hit the pavement. My daughter is nearly 30 years my junior - but I kept up pretty well. And as I said to her, I was after distance / time not speed. Speed can come later, much later, when the muscles are used to the work again.

Why the hiatus? Well to be honest there hasn't been a big one, just a lack of posting.

After pulling my groin last year, it took a couple of months before I felt able to run - so I didn't - opting for long walks and gym work instead. Then came Christmas and a trip to the UK. Now back into the swing of things, I have ramped up the work again, adding cardio to the floor work that I have been doing. I can now do "boy" push ups, and can manage to do them on my knuckles as well as flat palmed. Not bad for a woman with virtually no upper body strength before being shown the correct techniques. Then it has been pure guts and determination to get to where I can do 10 decent ones before landing flat on my face. My goal is 100....yes you heard that correctly.

Oh yes, and just to mix up the training just a little - I have booked in for 6 beginner pole dancing lessons. If that doesn't improve core stability and upper body strength I don't know what will. I will of course keep you posted on that one.

Yes it is back to the gym tonight....

Someone once asked me what I was training for. To which I answered - participation in this thing called LIFE - the fitter you are the longer you are in the race.

Didn't go to the gym yesterday, but did do the program at home, followed by another couple or three hours in the garden. I have more weeds than flowers, and certainly more than can fit into my bin this week. But I have almost re-cleared a garden bed. And with only a few weeks til summer, I need to get it finished and mulch down. Something I've repeatedly failed to do over the years.

What has gardening got to do with exercise? Well fat is merely an energy store. And with about 51lbs of fat on my frame - yes i know - yuk...horrified me when i saw the figures, i decided any kind of movement that makes me use muscles and makes me sweat has to be a good thing. And as an added bonus, i get to drink more water, and because i'm busy I'm not eating as much either. And therein lies another key to losing weight and keeping it off and being healthy at the same time. Set a goal that makes you become better than you currently are. Rise to the challenge and take control of your shape and your destiny. 

Andy had advised that I start off doing some of the leg work at a skip/jog pace....I would;ve if i could stop laughing. Oh boy, talk about embarrasing - I've always said I would never and I do mean never get to the stage when bits wobbled when I jumped....err - not a good look I have to say. it's amazing how fast wobble takes over when you simply don't do enough exercise. And the right kinds - or so it seems.

So - what can I say except that my fear that I had become lazy and not doing enough exercise was actually true. I got to use muscles that I had forgotten I had. Today my shoulders, pecs, ribs, upper back, hips, butt and just about everywhere else - is sore. OK, I'd also done 40 minutes worth of gardening yesterday afternoon and helped clean a friends place today, so some of yesterday's soreness can be attributed to other things I suppose. But even so.

But I shall be very interested to see how fast the new exercise regime starts to become easier - Andy has said that it will become easier very quickly if I do what he says. Which is why he has also given me additional work for when it does.

Who am I trying to kid?

You only have to catch site of me side on to know that I have become lazy with my food intake and the amount and intensity of the exercise that I do. Quite simply I don't do anywhere near enough exercise for the amount of fuel that I provide my body with. And make no mistake - food is fuel, and if we don't use it, we store it for use later....when there's a famine or the dinosaurs start terrorizing the high streets and we can't slope off down to the shops at lunch time for our daily fix of whatever naughtyness we have decided we need.

I think you get my point - few if any of us don't know where our next meal is coming from. Not only do we know, but we've planned the day around the food and the snacks that we want to eat.

1. Get up, shower, dress, eat breakfast, drink coffee, drive to work
2. Pick up takeaway coffee and a muffin for morning tea
3. Eat muffin as soon as you get to work with the cup of coffee. Make tea - because the last cup of coffee was a bit cold and the muffin is now lodged between your throat and stomach
4. Take antacids and paracetamol to take away the pain of the muffin and the after effects of the alcohol that you inhaled last night
5. Make more tea eat a couple of biscuits during the meeting you were late for and didn't want to attend anyway.
6. 2 hours of sitting in front of the computer and your stomach tells you it's lunch time.....

With schedules like this, is it any wonder we can add a couple of inches and kilos to our frames each and every year?

OK all facetiousness aside. I have become lazy, I might "go to the gym" twice a week, walk around at lunch time, occasionally add a longer walk in on the weekend and sometimes at night, but it's obviously not enough to cope with what i put into my mouth. I consume too much for the exercise that i do. Simple equation at the end of the day.

I happen to work with a gentleman who also teaches thai kick boxing and undertakes personal training - he was the guy who challenged me to run the city to surf. Well Andy managed it, in about 70 odd minutes - because of torn muscles I had to stop training about 5 weeks out, and just didn't have the time to get back to race distance before the day....excuse - no - it still pulls when I run, so now I jog.

So the other day I asked Andy if he would write me out a training plan - something I could do on my own - no-one to kick or spar with....and I said I would pay him in beer - a six pack for a six pack !! or something like that. Today I got a taste of what my new exercise regime will be like....

I've decided enough is enough, it's going to take me 3-6 months to lose the weight that I want to lose, but Andy says I should start to feel a difference within weeks with my clothes. This is a good thing, because at the moment I have to be careful not to wear baggy clothing for fear of being asked when the baby is due.

When are you going to decide enough is enough? When are you going to decide that the instant gratification of having that cake now will add days to your exercise program.

MMM1

With the quad finally healing i've started upping the amount of cardio I do, and yes I've started running again. Tonight as is always the case, the quad feels tight - so I shall have to be careful over the next day or so to ensure the muscle doesn't get too cold or overstretched. I just have to keep reminding myself that i am not 20 something anymore and my body needs a bit more TLC these days. The usual excesses of our teenage years are not so easily gotten rid of when you hit your later years. OK I'm not ancient - but I do think that my history of exercise and competitive sports has taken its toll and so I shall adjust my training schedule accordingly and add as much prevention, stretching as I can. 

I'll let you know how I go.