Bank holiday weekends are great for getting outside and enjoying a bit of activity, in the rain mainly :).
We went over to Rutland Water yesterday for a bike ride with our friends. It was a great day out, made
more enjoyable by the fact that we could all relax knowing that the 20ish mile circuit was within our limits.
The saddle readiness is something that just takes getting used to and a decent pair of padded pants.
I really enjoyed the whole day because I didn't see
it as exercise. Yes, technically we got a bit of a cardio workout but it was casual and really just an activity.
However, the fitter you are the more you can enjoy activities.
It's one of the hidden highlights our members talk about:
- being able to play football with the kids without being crippled for days afterwards.
- winning in the parents race on sports day.
- picking up the kids of the floor and swinging them around without worrying about your back.
- spending a night on the dance floor and not struggling to get out of bed the next day (other than the
hangover).
I personally struggle with structured exercise, I get bored too easily. I hated gym sessions so would turn them in to challenges with my friend Kelly, more on those another day.
Now I only do strength training when my training partner or coach come over to train. Sam has literally had to drag me out of my office to train because I'd be procrastinating.
I think it's because my first experiences of exercise were as a competitive martial artist. We didn't exercise for the sake of it; there was always a purpose - be faster, stronger, more flexible than our opponents. The training was just that - training, not exercise.
The sessions were tough but good fun because we were
training as a team and there was plenty of banter - I'm still known as the slowest sprinter in the world.
I never missed a session because the fitness was a side effect of the learning to be a better fighter.
When I started using a gym, it just didn't have the same appeal. It was a little boring, hence the challenges.
I jazzed things up when I started teaching classes too, my spin classes were always full because I applied the same principles to my class. We weren't exercising, we were training to be better cyclists, there was a different focus each session and some banter and a story were thrown in too.
We apply the same principles at Achieve
Bootcamp.
The sessions are all focussed on a different aspect of fitness and work towards an end goal every 4 weeks. We have lots of banter and our members all support each other both at sessions and in our private Facebook support group. We take part in activities like the Wolf Run and triathlons together where being fitter makes them more fun.
You can apply to join us for September here -
http://www.achievebootcamp.co.uk/when/application-form/
Darren 'getting ready for the rain' Checkley