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As much as I love fitness, I’ll be honest, it’s not always easy to lead an active life.

Sometimes, when life takes over, work gets busy, or family commitments become priority, exercise is often the first thing to slip off the ever-increasing To Do list.

It’s even harder to stay motivated to move in the winter, waking up and coming home in the cold and dark (although have you SEEN how light it is at 7am this week?! Spring is coming, guys). Some of us work long hours, or split shifts, or have kids and families to take care of, deadlines to meet, chores to complete, and when we come home the only thing we feel like doing is to crash.

And for some of us, even if you could find that extra hour and energy in the day, would you know what to do with it?

We know we should move more, but do we know how to, and actually, when it comes down to it, do we really want to? 

I’ve written before about how to fall in love with exercise. It’s not about pounding pavements, hitting an exercise class or spending hours in the gym if that’s not your thing. The key is to find something that you enjoy, that brings you benefits other than physical fitness: new friendships and community, improved self-confidence and good mental health, and a big dose of endorphins too.

That’s all very well, but if it doesn’t fit into your life then it’s just not going to work, is it?

To make movement a daily thing, it needs to slot into your life with ease – so easy in fact that you hardly notice it’s there and it just becomes part of your routine.

Stuff you can do on the way to things – like turning the school run into a family workout, or making the commute an active one by running or cycling. Taking the stairs instead of the lift (cliche alert!), or working out at home when you can snatch a few minutes each day.

“I do workouts that just need my body weight and enough space for me to get around.” Read Tracey’s story here: https://t.co/83xw2jDSJY @BHTeamUK #FitGotReal pic.twitter.com/Y3ykbz7MUg

— This Girl Can (@ThisGirlCanUK) February 2, 2019

 

 

We need to redefine exercise: it all counts. 

Despite doing an awesome job in engaging more than 3.5 million women into physical activity since its launch in 2015, the latest research from This Girl Can shows that more than a quarter of women are still inactive, exercising less than 30 minutes a week.

And 13.8% of the 6.2 million women getting in 30-150 minutes of movement each week report an inconsistent relationship with activity.

I’m with you, girls. 

Been there, and still there, if I’m honest. It’s hard to stay consistent with exercise. You know the drill – start a new plan, a new class, a new membership or club, with all the good intentions in the world, then life gets busy again and boom, goodbye new fitness plan.

 

It’s time #FitGotReal! 

And this is where my new video project with Active Sussex and This Girl Can comes in.

With my freelance copywriter hat on, I was excited at the end of last year to work with Sport England on the launch of the latest TGC campaign, to write the website copy for some of the new activities on the TGC website.

You can read them below:

HIIT training – the workout that keeps on giving.
Skateboarding – not just for kids!
Hula hooping – low impact, fun way to get fit!
Working out with pets – the best workout partner you’ll ever need
Playground routines – unleash your inner child with these nostalgic games
Park workouts – monkey bars, climbing frames, benches – your free outdoor gym!
Home workouts – get your fitness fix in from the comfort of your home

And with my This Girl Can Ambassador hat on, I’ll be making some more videos with Active Sussex and TGC to show you some quick and easy ways to fit a little more movement into your everyday, without the faff and financial commitment of having to join a gym or fitness class.

First up: Home workouts!

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How do you fit activity into your day?