I know what you're thinking, "not another empty promise of fitness resolutions"
If you know me personally, you're probably thinking "HAHAHAHAHAA"
My names Hope, and I have never worked out a day in my life. I'm in that breed of person that still has nightmares of my lesbian P.E. teacher screaming at me to run faster, grimaces at people running past me in the street and only owns a pair of Nikes because my friend from London told me they were fashionable.
I'm not overweight or unhealthy, but my Instagram is packed full of delicious eat-outs and my lifestyle includes a high content of wine, gin, cigarettes (shh!) and lounging round in coffee shops for excessive amounts of time skulling soy flat whites.
When recently asked if I could run 10k, my answer was "without stopping?" Because the truth is, I couldn't run 1k without falling over.
I've stubbornly stuck with this way of life for 21 years, ignoring the drastic increase of my friends joining gyms, taking up running and rolling their eyes at my laissez faire approach to exercise.
"I stand up all day at work!"
"It's raining"
"I can't even run for that long"
"I don't own work out gear"
"Gym memberships are a rip off and I already have my phone bill and Vogue subscription!"
I could go on and on for an eternity but I wont because I'll end up talking myself out of it.
Working out and exercising isn't just about getting fit though. As I mentioned before, I'm not overweight or unhealthy and I'm not a couch surfer, so what's the point in this sudden motivation?
Dr.Axe, a very attractive doctor on the internet, says that exercise can also boost happiness and your immune system, help you sleep better and improve memory and focus.
We're in an age where wellness is a form of elitism, with detox tea's, multivitamin supplements and the 'free-from' section in supermarkets seeing a boom into the mainstream. An Instagram post of a vegan super food salad is likely to get just as many likes as a big juicy burger and I love it.
On top of all these fabulous reasons to ditch the sofa's and the excuses and get into some kind of exercise regime, I'm really bloody bored.
After my epic year of travelling and the indulgence of Christmas and New Years, it's fair to say I'm feeling a bit worse for wear. My poor immune system has taken a bit of a beating and my short work hours, lack of a social life and cold winter weather has left me a bit unmotivated to say the least. And don't we all feel like that around this time of year? Dreaming of far away utopia's while staring out the window from your place of work while its pouring down with rain and you have a 10 minute walk to the car/bus/train/tube and you forgot your umbrella...
Obviously, I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and head down to my local gym and jump on a treadmill. I also haven't joined a yoga class or a Zumba class and I certainly haven't bought some running gear. If there's anything I do know about getting fit, it's be realistic!
With that in mind I've decided to start going for a morning swim at my local leisure centre.
I'm aware of how it sounds, kind of a cop out and not the most pleasant experience, swimming around in other peoples piss while old ladies do their aqua aerobics. In an ideal world I'd like to commit to going for a morning swim in the sea everyday; but as I previously stated, it's winter and it's fucking freezing and that is not a realistic goal. An hour or so every morning doing lanes while my mind pretends it's still in bed followed by a takeaway coffee from the on-site café. Achievable!
It's the perfect way to get me out of bed earlier, fill my day with something other than work and hopefully also make me happier and all those other things our lovable Dr. Axe said.
I'll be keeping everyone posted on my Instagram page Hope.5683
Wish me luck.
Peace Out♥
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