Getting Fit
I’ve never been a particularly active person. There isn’t a sport I play on a regular basis, and my office job — which has no commute — means I technically don’t have to leave the house at all.
As I’m getting older I’ve began to become more aware of the effects particular foods are having on my weight and mood (coupled with lack of exercise, of course). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a couch potato by any means; I drum with my band, walk my dog, and for a while I was swimming a couple of times a week. But the level at which I was being active wasn’t enough to combat the long shifts spent at my home office and my love for food.
Heart disease also runs in my family. My dad lost his life to heart disease at the age of 58, so the implications of not taking care of myself are there, gnawing at the back of my head in a very dramatic fashion. The problem is, though, that as someone who has never been particularly active, I’ve had trouble sticking to an exercise regime and sustaining a healthy routine. It isn’t long before I convince myself not to go out a run or to give into that pizza. As ashamed as I am to admit it, my willpower has sucked.
I believe, though, that if you really want something enough you will ensure you take the steps to make it happen. And I really want to get fit. This whole process is probably more about training my mind rather than my body, which is why I’ve decided to hire a personal trainer.
Everyone has had differing opinions on my reasoning behind this, especially as personal trainers are a luxurious expense — they’re not exactly cheap. “You could have had a gym membership for a fraction of the cost” or “Why don’t you tag along with my mate and I when we go running?” are a couple of reactions I’ve had, and while it may seem a little L.A. to hire a personal trainer, I’m essentially paying him to kick my arse into gear; to force me out, to set goals and raise expectations, to refrain from letting me give up like I always have. To push me to my absolute limit.
What are my goals? Aside from the obvious that I’ve already stated (outliving my father!), I’d be lying if I said vanity didn’t come into it. Whilst I think I’m at a comfortable weight for my height, because I’ve never exercised regularly I’m not exactly toned. I’m not wanting to go overboard — I think a bit of meat on a woman is definitely sexy — but I will be toning up. I don’t have a target weight and I won’t be obsessively tracking weight loss — this is all about feeling.
I’m excited about this for a couple of reasons, namely because I feel that I’ve already exceeded in accomplishing my personal goals this year, and if I pull this one off then I’ll pretty much be an unstoppable force! In typical ‘Ashley shares everything via photos’ fashion, I’m going to be documenting the changes in my body via good old Photo Booth. I’ll probably share the photos in 3 weeks time, which is when small changes might start to become noticeable.
Needless to say, this first week of training has kicked my ass. There hasn’t been a day I’ve woken up without feeling intense pain in my muscles (despite doing my stretches after training and soaking in a hot bath). I’ll also be keeping a food diary for the first 2 weeks, so that will be interesting to look at a couple of weeks down the line. Wish me luck!
Have you ever dramatically changed your lifestyle?
