Ed's Letter: Fitness Reboot

Felicity Harley.

I vividly remember my first run after my recent year-long fitness hiatus following the birth of my son, Hugo. I bought cool, printed tights for added motivation, stored a pumping new playlist, and donned comfy-as runners. All set. It was 7:30pm, the sky was charcoal and the streets deserted. Heavenly running conditions!

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The first half-a-kay I was super quick, feeding off the adrenaline of being ‘back in the game!’ Eight minutes in, I was puffing like Donald Trump on a treadmill. I dragged my feet for another two and by 10 minutes I was cooked. For this runner-slash-yogi who cranked out seven kay – no sweat – before pregnancy, this lack of fitness was hard to swallow. Next day, I hobbled around the house.

For the few months that followed I struggled to find motivation – and time – to exercise. So long to burning more fat! To kick-off 2016, I took some advice from this mag: try something new. Add variety! Tweak your routine. Mix it up to amp up motivation (rather than focusing on fitness). Today, I can now add a bunch of new workouts to my smug “I’ve so done that” fitness checklist. Surfing. Sorted (see pic). Yoxing. Tick. Nike+ Training Club app. Loving it. Fit? I reckon so. Motivated? You bet. The kicker: I’m excited about exercise again!

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So, if you’ve already veered off your 2016 fitness plan, try our new goal-smashing workout Let’s Do This. If you’re a newbie to exercise or are stepping back into it, be kind to yourself… the time it takes to regain your fitness levels depends on what your fitness baseline was.

The April issue of Women's Health is out now.