Are you making the most of your training? Blog

Lately I've been realising just how many people go through the motions with their exercise and don't really get the most out of it.

Now that I'm pregnant my exercise routine has changed a bit. My focus is now on maintaining some basic fitness and just exercising because it makes me feel great, whereas before it was to get fitter or to reach a certain fitness goal.

This has meant that my usual hardcore rpm classes have turned into a great session on the bike where I get a bit sweaty and simply get moving. My running has gone from trying to push myself at every opportunity, doing sprint, hill and long runs to an easy 5km plod around the streets. I now go for my hill walk with the pure intention just to get out and about and feel refreshed.

As I've started to slow down I've noticed how many people around me tend to do the SAME things over and over again and I'm wondering what their reason for actually exercising is.

Quite often in rpm I hear people say they are there to burn calories and this is there big session for the day although when it comes down to the class they don't seem to get that uncomfortable and they look exactly the same as they did 6 months ago.

What really opened up my eyes is I was doing my hill walk the other day and I walked past a lady who has been doing the same walk for 5 years, she still walks at the same pace and is still carrying an extra 20kg of weight.

Now don't get me wrong I think it's fantastic that people exercise regularly and get out and about but what I'm getting at is if you are trying to lose fat or get fitter then you need to make some changes, get a bit uncomfortable and really see what you are capable of.

So if you are exercising regularly and HONESTLY eating well but not making the changes you were hoping for it might be time to have a look at your training intensity and what you are putting into every session.

Have you been doing the same routine for a while although made no improvements?

Every time you exercise you should be aiming to make improvements, this might be to jog that little bit further, or complete your walk a couple of minutes quicker. Any small changes make a BIG difference. I still wear my stopwatch on all my walks as I like to see how fast I'm going and if I'm doing a session to get fit I need to challenge myself. This might mean running at a faster speed for a set period, running for longer or increasing my average heart rate or calories burnt during my rpm class.

If you seriously want to change then it means MAKING SOME CHANGES. So if you are someone who always walks or says the most you can run is for 5 minutes, try setting yourself a challenge to run for 10 minutes or start a bit of a walk/jog circuit. Realise that every training session is an opportunity to get fitter, burn calories and feel great.

Work out what you want and head towards it!

Otherwise just be happy going through the motions with your exercise and realise change won't happen until you start to challenge yourself.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week. I've had a great week so far and have been managing to keep up a good level of exercise. I am starting to notice that the running is feeling a bit weird, not so much because of my extra load(which there seems to be a bit) but because my joints seem to be a bit more relaxed and I get quite sore in the legs afterwards. I'll see how I go for another week but I might have to stick to the rpm and hill walks from now on.

Tomorrow I head to Adelaide to brave the freezing cold (it's a bit hard to leave Cairns at the moment as the weather is sensational) and visit my new little Niece, the rest of the family and have a catch up with the girls. It's only going to be a quick visit, just staying for a night as I kind of like sleeping in my own bed right now and don't know how long I can cope in the cold.

I'll give you a full preggy update in the next couple of days.

Have a great day!

Cheers, Hilds