Exercise is great for your mental health, as well as your physical health.

Remember: You do not need to be Athletic or a super active person to benefit.

I personally love exercise. I love planning my workouts, trying new things and the muscle soreness after a great workout that tells me I’ve worked hard. I refer to exercise or workouts through but I always feel this includes a wider definition of exercise – this includes any activity that moderately raises your heart rate including housework and gardening.

Not everyone is into exercising such as going to the gym – finding something fun is, but recognising this wider of definition of exercise can also factor in many activities (such as housework) that you may also be doing.

Keeping it fun is critical for me. I’ve tried many different sports and exercises, and I am grateful to gain experience over the years and keep me engaged in being active.

I try not to set too many rigid goals for exercise, I like to keep it general – build intensity, try new things and have fun. I no longer chase a specific goal such as I will run X distance – that works against the enjoyment factor for me. I do track my progress instead – I plan my workouts in advance with plenty of variety, and I log down what I have achieved. I love to see the progress I am making, with out adding rigid goals. That works for me at least. There is no one size fits all approach to keep someone engaged with exercise.

Starting can be the hardest part of exercise, particularly if you are looking at a new workout programme.

Take some time out to research.  What do you want to do? Try something new or make it fun. Exercise need not be a chore Starting can be the hardest part of exercise, particularly if you are looking at a new workout programme.

Every time you do an intense workout – you will be creating microscopic tears in your muscles. This essentially enables you’re body to adapt and become more stronger and more resilient to training stimulus. As a rule, small microscopic tears isn’t a problem. It’s actually the whole point of working out, as the muscle fibres repair and build back stronger whilst you are resting.

When you overdo it with exercise or cut back on your much-needed rest, those intentional “micro-injuries” can easily become real injuries that prevent you from training , or worse. 

Exercise is great, but when you get to it, remember its good to rest too.