I’ve read a lot of blogs with New Year’s Resolutions in which is great….many have the same things and lots say they want to get fitter, eat healthier and so on.  I want the same, but for me there is no point in setting it as a resolution because I’d have broken it already with the cup of tea and handful of jaffa cakes I had last night!  😛

So…no ‘new year’s resolutions’ for me as such…more of a ‘just get on and do it woman!!’

Tonight is back to Zumba which I love, I’ll have to take it steady as I’m still suffering with my chest after having bronchitis last month but it really will be my kick start!  If you’re reading this and are local to Basingstoke and Tadley, check out the website for 4-Fitsake or check it out on Facebook .  I go to the Zumba class with Helena.  She is so lovely.  So much fun and really friendly, the classes are suitable for anyone and although I usually go with a friend, I have been on my own and the class is really comfortable to be in.   I read someone else’s blog who enjoyed Zumba but didn’t want to go through fear of having people who dance staring at them if they muck up the steps….I dance….I muck up the steps ALL of the time!!  It’s just fun but in that time you really get a good workout and leave feeling like you’ve worked!  I can’t recommend it enough!!

Dancing is back on next week after the Christmas break and I cannot wait to get back to it! Only 2 weeks until the next regional competition so I really have to get on with it!   Dancing of course helps with keeping fit but I dance twice a week and the professional dancers that I follow on Instagram who train every day are in the gym!   There are muscle groups that need to be used in dancing that I need to work on.  Dancing requires core strength and stability so those muscles need improving all of the time.  Personally I struggle in terms of exercises as I have a Hiatus Hernia so traditional core and abs work can trigger that making it painful to complete a workout.  Stamina is also a pre-requesit for dancing especially at competitions and to improve mine I thought I would start running….I don’t run!  Well, I didn’t anyway!  I started using the Couch to 5k app, actually spurred on by watching the Olympic runners and thinking I really need to start doing something more!  The Couch to 5k lasts 9 weeks and gradually gets you from walking to running.  I even completed a 5k park run with my son….I was pretty pleased with myself!

The issue I had is by about week 4 it involved running continuously for 5 minutes.   This I found to be affecting my knees so I had to stop.  By now I should have started again but I’ll be honest, I haven’t.  That said, I am restarting running but at my own pace.  Using the Couch to 5k as a guide, but I won’t be running for the timings it suggests!  It’s great if you can manage it, I just couldn’t.

Last year, I managed to loose a stone in weight.  As much as I have been tempted with bootcamps and online bootcamps and meal plans and so on, I know it won’t work for me.   Not in terms of doubting the results, I’m sure it would work, but in terms of sticking to it…I just know what I am like.  I’m not suggesting in any way that these don’t work by the way!!  If you can do it, great!

Last year I was tempted to sign up to the 90day plan by Joe Wicks, The Body Coach who I think is amazing.  The same thing though, could I pay the money and actually realistically stick to the plan?  I’m not sure!  So I bought his books and followed him on YouTube and I was doing 4 HIIT workouts a week and despite not being ruthless with my food and only following his recipes, I used the ethos behind it and did what I could.  Yes I still had chocolate, yes I still went to Nando’s, yes I still had takeaways, but it was nowhere near as often as I had previously been doing!  With that and dancing and zumba, I lost a stone in weight and felt much better in myself, not just for loosing weight, but I could see a difference in my body shape which was great.  My clothes fit me better and I had more energy!

Nothing actually happened necessarily to stop me doing all of this…..but when the weather gets colder and nights get darker and my workload increased, I found I was snacking again, not getting time to do my HIIT workouts, had stopped running thanks to my knees, had to miss Zumba because of either my ankle playing up or bronchitis or just too flipping tired to leave the house…either way, I’d lost my determination and get up and go!

So….This is my plan:

• Get back to weekly zumba….oh look that’s TONIGHT!!
• Start running again but at my own pace
• Start at home HIIT sessions again (I can do this if I plan it!!)
• Meal plan!
• Reduce my sugar intake
• Increase my water intake
• Not get stressed when I can’t do my planned exercise…stress doesn’t help!

My aim is to be healthier as a lifestyle and not as a fad or a quick detox (funnily enough I’ve just had an email pop up as I’m writing this offering a new year detox….no thanks!  :P)

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