The problem with gyms

In the last ten years I have been a member of four gyms. They have all had the same thing in common – I ended up never going to them! I often ask myself why I used put myself through the rigmarole of joining gyms one after another – a kind of gym addiction you might say.

Here are a few promises that gyms hope to deliver:-

1. Exclusive surroundings with excellent facilities.
2. A chance to meet other like minded people.
3. A range of classes under one roof that you can’t normally do such as Zumba and body balance.
4. A chance to have a ‘fitness’ schedule done for you by a trainer. They will tailor it especially for you – good if you want to lose weight.
5. Personal training for one to one fitness coaching. Your own special motivator.
6. A place to relax in the jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.
7. A good quality cafe serving healthy snacks such as smoothies and open sandwiches.
8. Exercise done in a ‘safe’ way with encouragement. Good if you are unfit and not done exercise in a while.
9. Creates more space for you if you live in a small flat in a big city such as London.

Here is the reality of gym membership:-

1. They are expensive (I paid £60 a month) and often very busy at peak times. It’s cheaper for off peak membership but the allowed hours often don’t fit into your working schedule.
2. Hard to get on equipment in the actual gym – queuing for tread mills and exercise bikes! There is no wait to go outside for running.
3. They take much time out of your day. If you go to the gym after work several hours or more can be washed away.
4. Exercise routines designed for you are often repetitive and not challenging enough. Gyms are scared of being sued if something horrible happens to someone.
5. You have a complete lack of fresh air. Running in an air conditioned space can’t be good for you in the long run.
6. It’s harder to motivate yourself to go to the gym often a car journey away than it is to step outside your own front door with a pair of trainers on.
7. The relaxation areas are often too tempting. I often avoided the gym and plunged in the jacuzzi instead. Came out feeling lethargic and sleepy.
8. The gym cafe will probably sell chocolate bars and muffins. Again too tempting!
9. You need to be dedicated to disciplining your social life. A quick offer of a drink after work can cancel out a night at the gym. A mile a day on the other had can be slipped in easily into your routine.
10. If you travel or have regular holidays then your exercise routine is destroyed. One back the habit has been broken and hard to get into it again. With a mile a day I can run anywhere and do. At the minute I am holiday in Mexico and enjoying my early evening runs before dinner.

These are just done reasons why I don’t have gym membership anymore. I love running out doors everyday and I encourage you to do the same.

Do any of my readers have similar stories? I would love to hear them. Please comment freely.

Milerunner

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7 different miles in 7 days

If a mile a day is going to work for you you have to be creative. It’s fun to think of different ways in which you can run your mile. I have planned your week for you in this post. 7 different miles in 7 days. I would be really keen to know how you get on. Any more suggestions then please let me know.

Day 1

Choose a mile route you have never done before. Time it and measure it using your smart phone. Enjoy exploring and making it as different as you can to the ones you have done previously. Take foot paths and turnings that you have thought about taking but never had. Run for 2 minutes and have a 30 second break in between. If you go over the mile then don’t worry, it’s fine. Make it as close to the mile as you can.

Day 2

Do the same route as day 1 but in reverse. You don’t need to measure it this time as you know it’s a mile. Try to beat your time from day 1. Run all the way or do some faster sections. Use landmarks such as lamp posts or parked cars in the distance to accelerate to.

Day 3

Drive to a hill in your local area and park near by. Jog to the foot of the hill put don’t include this distance in the mile. This hill is going to be your playground for the next 15 minutes (or less). Run to the top of the hill without stopping. Don’t look at the top but concentrate on your feet moving, imagine someone at the top with a rope pulling you up. There is no rush but you mustn’t stop. Use the down hill as your cool down. You can walk if you want but you’ll probably find the feeling of free fall with gravity is enough. Lean forward a bit and you will get down with little effort. Feels like flying!

Day 4

Pack your running gear into a ruck sack and head for a nearby city. I live about 30 minutes by train from the centre of London so perfect for this. Go to a hotel and use their toilets to change into your sports gear. Head out and run for a mile through the streets. You may want to do some planning in advance using something like mapmyrun online. Choose your time wisely. I find early evening best when commuters have started their journey.

Day 5

Go back to the day one route and do some high intensity interval training. The pattern below works for me and gets my heart pounding and breath shortening no trouble.

2 min warm up – slow jog
20 sec very fast
20 sec cool down – walk
20 sec very fast

Repeat until you have completed your mile. Structuring in this way in some ways is more satisfying than the ‘random’ approach.

Day 6

Find a local park to run in. Often our parks especially in the UK are underused and are associated with childhood. Some of these parks are beautiful and have good car parks. Drive to one and enjoy the change of scenery. Even better cycle to one and you’ve done a bit of cross training as well. Using the park map will tell you the best parts , maybe a lake or a stream or a secret woodland garden. You could have a look online before hand.

Day 7

This is treat day. Run to a pub about a mile away and have a drink. Enjoy yourself – have a few and be merry. Walk back if you want to. Take a change of clothing in a ruck sack if you want to make a night of it. Combine this day with a meal out with friends – take your friends on the run with you.

Why not make tomorrow your day 1? Of course you don’t need to run the days in the order suggested! The whole idea of this habit is to find what works for you.

Milerunner

Today a ran a mile in Mexico

How does running a mile a day make me feel?

For some running a mile a day might not seem worth it. A mile is just a mile after all. I will just go to the gym instead or try to eat less you might say. There are however magical things that happen to you when you commit to the habit of daily exercise. The traditional ways of exercise are just so hard to keep regularHere are just some things that running a mile a day makes me feel.

I feel……..

1. That I don’t have to think about ‘doing’ exercise. It’s built into my daily routine.

2. I’m not limited to where I can exercise. All I need is trainers and I can step out of the door where ever I am. Currently writing this on the beach on the coast of Mexico!

3. More energetic. I get less tired in the day and less sleepy.

4. That I am more motivated to do things. I have a greater thirst and passion for life.

5. That I am healthier. I do not need to watch what I eat as much because my metabolic rate is that much higher. I like to eat healthily but I can drink beer too!

6. Thinner. Just the bare fact of burning so many calories as the days of the year roll on keeps my weight in check. I’m always losing a little bit.

7. Challenged. Running everyday is a challenge. Each run can be as challenging as I want it to be. If I want to run fast I can, if I want to climb a massive hill I can or of I want to run every minute with a minute rest I can do that too. It really doesn’t matter. Getting outside and putting one foot in front of the other does.

8. That I have more time in my day. When I used to go on longer runs and had gym membership my time just went. I vividly remember coming home from work, rushing food and then jumping in the car to ‘drive’ to the gym. The whole process including getting there, changing and getting back could take more than three hours. Sometimes when I got to the gym I couldn’t be bothered and just lounged in the jacuzzi.

9. I am inspiring others to do the same. I receive emails most days to say that they also want to do the same. I love to hear the way that their minds and body shape are changing.

10. That I appreciate the mornings. I do most of my runs in the morning and running while the world wakes is truly awe inspiring. The subtle sounds of birds chirping and the sound of cars starting to go to work make it for me. You also see other runners out and about – a kind of secret world.

If you feel stuck in a rut with your exercise routine then maybe it’s about time you changed. Thinks small and get big results. It’s not difficult. I hope that my posts on this site inspire you and give you lots of encouragement.

I am keen to hear how running and daily exercise makes you feel. Please comment freely.

Milerunner

5 mile a day running hacks to make you work harder

If you want to get fitter i.e feel better and lose weight then you will need to add some challenge into your runs. Here are 5 possible ways of doing this. I I will write more soon.

1. Try to beat your last time for a mile. Choose a mile known to you and time yourself. If you took 14 minutes yesterday try for 12 minutes today. Make the walk breaks shorter and increase your speed by 10%. Just do what feels good for you. Don’t go mad bit just work a bit harder gradually.
2. Incorporate a hill into your work out. If you don’t have a hill near you then drive to one and do your mile up and down it.
3. If you usually have a few walk breaks which is fine then try to run your mile without any. If this is too daunting then run as far as you can without stopping at all.
4. Try some high intensity interval training. I have started doing what is called Tabata training during my daily mile routines. Basically you run as hard as you can for 20 seconds and then rest (walk) for 10 seconds. This is repeated 8 times. After the eighth repetition you really feel it.
5. Run out for half a mile and make a note of the time. Turn around and run back. Reset your timer and your challenge is to best your out time. See how much can you beat it.

What strategies do you use to add more challenge to your runs?

Milerunner

I ran a mile today on Doffcocker Lodge, Heaton, Bolton today

Today was my first try out at Tabata training. Ouch!

Yesterday I ran a mile in Bolton, Greater Manchester

Yesterday I ran a mile along the River Thames in East Molesey

Today I ran a mile along the coast in Fig Tree Bay, Cyprus

Mini-Guide on how to have a relatively healthy all-inclusive holiday

All inclusive holidays are notorious for being very unhealthy. You’ve paid your money and want to get value for that money once there. The dangers of this are easy to see. Here are some obvious ones.

1. Overeating: ‘free’ food being available all day. Meal times are dangerous with so many carbs on offer.
2. Drinking calories: With wine and beer on tap, all inclusive holidays are notorious for being very unhealthy.
3. Too much sun. Staggering from the dinner table to the lounger feeling heavy. You start with sun tan cream then get lazy into the second week. Heat rash and burn can result. Hello Pharmacy!
4. Dehydration: Water drinking can take a back seat. There is water in lager, right!
5. Spending too much money on trips and excursions: 2 weeks staying in the hotel grounds can be claustrophobic.
6. Not enough movement: No motivation to exercise is common.
7 Stress of being with other people: yes you are on holiday and yes you are with people that you love but stress and friction can occur especially at decision time. What shall we do today! Arrrrrrgh.

There are plenty more pitfalls but I will leave these to your imagination.

This mini guide is a few suggestions on how to have a healthy all inclusive experience.

1. Plan your alcohol: decide in the morning when and how many beers etc you will have that day. Make a judgement how many is too many. One sounds too few? Five sounds too many?
2. Be sensible with your carbohydrates: spaghetti and meat sauce with chips on the side might not be the best plan. In my opinion the danger foods are bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. Fortunately in all inclusive buffets there is plenty of choice so as a general rule these can be avoided. I’m not saying don’t eat a single piece of bread or a pasta twirl, just not at every meal.
3. Tune into your body. Several key questions will help you do this. Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Do I feel dehydrated ( dry mouth, headache, unfocused, tired, demotivated to move). Do I feel stressed? Do I feel hot? Do I feel lazy? Most of these are easily answered and resolved. If you are not hungry then don’t eat! Simple!
4. Drink plenty of water. Make water your drink of choice at meal times. I find that a rule of no alcohol when eating is essential. Order a bottle of still mineral water as the first thing you do when the waiter comes around.
5. Give yourself space from who you are with. You don’t need to do everything together. Spend a couple of hours on your own. Fill this time with something healthy such as a mile run. You will have more to say to one another this way. Shared experience is valuable but limits freshness in conversation.
6. Take advantage of the hotel sports put on. There is usually plenty on offer from water aerobics to beach volleyball. In Cyprus at the moment I have done an organised Yoga class everyday. I had never done Yoga before – a great introduction to it. Outside and beautiful!
7. Plan your dedicated sun times. I comit myself to two fifteen minute sessions a day. One in the morning before it gets too hot and one in the afternoon for a final blast. To be mathematical and chef like I do 7.5 minutes each side. I use my phone timer to time myself.
8. Look around for trips and excursions. The holiday company you booked with will be all to keen to sell you ‘their’ trips. There will be entry of outside companies offering the same if not better just a short walk away. Have a look at tripadvisor (before or whilst you are there). You can search for attractions near you. Have a look at the highest rating first then move to the average ones and make a list of the pitfalls. A little bit of research goes a long way. Think carefully about hiring a car. Not always the best thing in my opinion. Yes you may be able to see more but can be the source of many an argument. Everyone gets a bit scared driving on a different side and into the unknown. Be a little considerate.
9. Be organised and sensible. . Use the hotel safe to keep your valuables in. Don’t leave stuff around the pool – don’t get paranoid though. People are generally trustworthy.
10. Try to exercise everyday and if you can help it avoid the gym. Get outside.

If you have a healthy lifestyle then 2 weeks of all inclusive can damage you and ruin all sorts of good habits.

These suggestions are mind and I am keen to hear yours. Please comment freely or email me at runamiletoday@gmail.com

Milerunner