Does anyone remember the days of Keep Fit classes? I think they are still a popular class in gyms. My step-mum used to go to them back in the 90’s when I was a youngster and I used to love seeing her in her workout gear (lycra shorts, leotard and t-shirt – it was the 90’s). I never quite understood the whole “keeping fit” thing back then, and even to this day I still question the whole keeping fit thing.

Ever since the day I can remember I have been an active person. I started dance classes very young and continued through to my early twenties, I learned to swim at school and continued to love going to the swimming baths with friends, I was always playing out with friends on the bike and rollerblading and I started cheerleading in my teens and continued into my mid-twenties. I have always played and been active, it has always been a way of life for me, and so I never truly understood why other children/teens/those in their early 20’s were not fit and active. To me it made sense to have hobbies, play with others, have fun and do activities.

When I became a personal trainer it changed my perspective for a while. I started to learn about all these methods of moving the body for fitness. It was interesting and I soaked up all the new knowledge, even to this day I am still learning about all the new crazy fitness trends and other ways to move the body.  There are countless ways to keep active which would suit everyone. However, what I have learnt since being a PT is that I prefer to do things that I actually enjoy simply because it is fun, it challenges my mind and body and it is something to do that feels great. Keeping the body moving feels great! I have tried various methods of fitness routines and exercises as a PT and they have been great, but in all honesty I’m not a fan of doing movement simply because you have to do it to “keep fit and healthy”. Or that you must do it to build those muscles, or lose fat, or get lean, or improve fitness. I really don’t like that mindset and approach to movement.

For me, movement for the body should be something that is natural to you. Something that feels right for you to do every day, every week, every month, all year round. It should never be something that is a struggle, a nuisance or a pressure you put on yourself. It shouldn’t be something that makes you feel rubbish. It shouldn’t be something that you feel you have to do. Moving your body is normal, moving your body is natural, moving your body is enjoyment. The key is to do movement that you want to do all the time, that you want to do consistently. It doesn’t matter if for a new months you do one particular type of exercise then change to something else, or if you do the same type of exercise for years and years, if you enjoy whatever method and it makes you feel amazing then go for it. The real secret is to do movement consistently every day and eat food that supports your health, fitness and body. Out both together and you will feel incredibly fit and healthy.

If you want to dance, then dance. If you want to play rugby, then play rugby. If you want to do yoga, do yoga. If you want to walk, then go walking. If you want to lift weights, get lifting. If you want to climb walls, then get climbing. If you want to try it all, then do it. We only get one chance in life and we might as well make it one amazing one full of energy, enjoyment and abundant in health.

From dancing to swimming to cheerleading to biking to rollerblading to climbing to outdoor training in the woods, rivers and mud to CrossFit to lifting weights to powerlifting to yoga to walking, I have had an amazing journey. I’m sure within the next ten years I will have found other forms of movement and exercise I love too – I shall keep you posted on those!

Here are my favourite ways to keep fit, healthy, happy and full of enjoyment.

Walking

I absolutely love getting outdoors every single day, I have always enjoyed going for a walk. Simply moving the body with its normal functioning movement feels good. Growing up in Yorkshire I have always had the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors to explore the beautiful countryside come rain, shine or snow. Being a Yorkshire girl at heart this is something I am truly thankful to my family for showing me the beauty of the great outdoors. As I got older I continued to go on walks into the countryside relishing in the fresh smell…of manure! On top of this we have always had dogs so I would often take the dogs out for a mooch. Now that I have two GSP’s who are young and extremely energetic I get outdoors every single day. There are many reasons I like the companionship of a dog, and one of them is it is a great excuse to get outside for a walk every day. Now, I’m not one of those people who believes a 15 minute walk around the block is a walk with the dogs, a dog needs more than that…and so does the human. As I have a very energetic breed of dogs they do require more exercise than some breeds and I prioritise that. The boys get around two hours of exercise a day, which means I also get those two hours of exercise a day. Some days it is two walks split into 45 minutes to one hour each, other days it is one walk that is almost two hours. Either way the boys can roam and run to their hearts content and I can walk at a steady pace or a much faster pace depending on how I feel that day. I don’t really care about the pace as I just go with the flow and enjoy it. Sometimes I may run around with the boys. My mind, body and soul feel fantastic for walking every day with the dogs. There’s just so much to enjoy when going out on adventures with dogs. Please don’t think that dogs should be tied to a lead and walked for only a few minutes a few times a week, every day if they are lucky. Allowing dogs to get plenty of exercise truly helps them in so many way, which can be said the same for us humans. Train the dogs to be off lead and listen to you, train yourself to embrace the beauty all around.

Yoga

I recently spoke about Why I Love Yoga so I won’t talk about it too much here. But, vinyasa flow yoga has become such a big part of my life now and I absolutely love it. At the moment I do this style of yoga four times a week at home and I feel amazing for doing it. The flows are so energising, the movements are enriching and at the end I feel revitalised. I am learning more about my body with this type of movement and it is so rewarding.

Weight Lifting

I was introduced to weight lifting when I became a personal trainer but I didn’t quite click with it in the early days. In hindsight it was simply because I was too distracted with my outdoor training, scrambling up muddy hills and river wading, whilst still doing some cheerleading. Plus, it just didn’t float my boat back then. When I got into CrossFit I instantly fell in love with the barbell and became in love with the deadlift. When I left CrossFit I did more powerlifting and absolutely loved this, however due to previous injuries in CrossFit I dialled down the lifting to focusing on healing the body. I did more old school bodybuilding and absolutely fell in love weight training. I love bicep curls, I love deadlifts, I love bench pressing, I love pull ups, I love shoulder presses, I absolutely love feeling the muscles truly working and engaging the mind to the body. I finally clicked with lifting weights after all these years of being a PT! I still love real old school bodybuilding weight lifting, however yoga has taken over at the moment so I only do the occasional movements such as pull ups, chin ups and press ups. I am more into the bodyweight movements at the moment which is greatly influenced by the yoga. I am enjoying learning more about the strength of my own body as opposed to the 150kg deadlift I once achieved. However, there may be a time in the future when I decide to test that strength again. We shall see.

Other Activities

Dancing | Swimming | Climbing

I am a dancer at heart. I simply love it which is one of the reasons I love vinyasa flow yoga due to the flows and movements. These days I just dance in my lounge like a youngster but if there is ever an opportunity to go to a dance class I’m there! I love swimming and any holidays I go on where there is a pool I get straight in for a swim. I would love to do more swimming but it’s just not realistic at this moment with life and location. I fell in love with climbing a few years ago but had to stop for awhile due to injuring a shoulder when doing my outdoor training. I never got back into the weekly climbing sessions after that incident as I became too distracted with CrossFit (damn it!!!). Me and the mister occasionally go climbing when we get the chance and it will have to be something that is the odd enjoyable treat.

I would love to be able to more regular weight lifting, swimming, dancing and climbing, but you only have so many hours in a day and quite honestly doing that many types of exercise every single week religiously is just extreme. I think it’s great to enjoy a variety of movements but don’t feel that you have to schedule them in the diary every week to get the “perfect body” or to be “super fit and healthy”. I believe many people are putting too much pressure on themselves to do the perfect form of exercise and routine for the ultimate body. Just find movements that you enjoy and want to do every day and every week consistently, and then when you have the chance to do something different for a day or two go for it and relish the other movements. And eat nutritious glorious food.