Current Fitness Routine

Winter is upon us which inevitably means that it is harder both mentally and practically to exercise as much.

In summer, I mix up running in the morning or Kayla's Bikini Body Guide before work and then CrossFit in the evenings.

The dark mornings mean that I have no desire to get up any earlier than I need to and they also mean that unless it involves a treadmill or weekend daylight, running is out.  There is no way I feel safe running alone in the dark.

As a result of this, my exercise is primarily CrossFit related.  Thankfully the box I go to runs classes until 7/7.30pm most evenings which generally allows me to go 3 - 4 times a week.

Each class tends to include a warm up, 20 minutes or so of skill/strength work (think pause back or front squats, deadlifts and ring rows if you have to scale pull ups like me) and then the WOD which can be anything up to 30 minutes of pure endurance hell.

It gets harder and harder at this time of year though with the Christmas dos, shopping, client meals, meals with friends and amazing food EVERYWHERE. And don’t even get me started on the Baileys and Christmas Starbucks Coffees! You hopefully now know my view of perfection (it’s BS) so if you want a Starbucks or you have a meal planned with friends, enjoy!  Maybe don’t make it a full on month long binge though. I’ve done that enough times to know the end result is a shitty January. So that’s why I’m still eating well (mostly) and keeping up with frequent activity. That and the fact that I have now discovered that what I eat generally determines how I feel.  So if I eat rubbish, guess how I feel!  If I can’t get to CrossFit because it’s all a bit full on, I don’t beat myself up.  I just try and do some mobility work at home and get back to the box as soon as possible.

A bit of mobility work is better than nothing in these winter months. It’s not going to burn off the mince pies but you will feel a little better in your body.  Like so many of you, I’m sat at a desk most of the day, I drive to and from work and in winter if I'm at home it's easy to spend an evening sat in front of Netflix.  So for me it’s just as important as high intensity exercise. I’m hoping my body will thank me for it in the future when I’m stronger and a lot more flexible. I know not everyone buys into stretching and mobility, but if I have had a day of no exercise, it stops me from feeling like I have ceased up completely.  It was also something my coach never let me skip when I used to compete for Blackburn Harriers, so it must be good on some level.  I still love a good stretch and as I usually have DOMS of some kind every day, it's 100% needed!

I’ve posted some clips of the WODs and mobility work I do on Instagram and will try and add some more for anyone interested in what CrossFit is about, or what you can do for mobility.  One thing worth mentioning is that a lot of my mobility moves come from years of using the Nike Training Club app. If you don’t already have this all I’ll say is YOU NEED IT IN YOUR LIFE. It’s amazing. There are loads of workouts of high and low intensity and  all for free. You can do them without equipment at home or with equipment in the gym depending on which worktout you choose. This is another thing I incorporate into my exercise routine in summer when I have lots more energy and motivation. It’s also a great way to start incorporating exercise into your week if you don’t have a gym membership and/or are limited on time.

Aside from the above, I also try and get a 30 -60 minute walk in at the weekends, although I will admit that this is usually because it involves a tipple in Chorlton afterwards.