What's particularly good about getting active in Devon?

Welcome to my last 'This Girl Can, Devon' blog.

I hope that it's been helpful, or insightful for you? I've enjoyed writing them anyway, it's been different having someone else pick the blog titles for me.

I moved to Devon in 2004, a place which I have always loved. I moved to Devon to be close to Dartmoor and the sea, a far cry from the small village in Surrey that I grew up in.

Those two factors are by far the most important to me when it comes to being active. You can just go for a walk, along the coastpath, or up tors, everything about Devon is pretty, or awe inspiring. The scenery and environment just makes it for me.

I can leave my house in Totnes and within a minute of running I am by the river, along the trail and into the woods at Dartington, running in clean, fresh air. I have been running around so much of North and South Devon and I never tire of the views.

The other thing about Devon, and actually, the South-West in general is the community spirit. Even in larger towns there is a great spirit for supporting the local sports teams and school clubs. I also think it's a lot safer to be, I used to worry, running at night in Surrey, but the low crime down here make it a much better place to get outside into the fresh air, and train.

What better way to get active than to take a brisk walk along a windy beach, or hike on the moor? I cannot think of a better place to be, than in Devon.

Now it's your turn, we are almost halfway through January, so if you haven't started getting active, just think...'This Girl Can' get out there, go for a walk, take photos of the views, even blog your experience and get 2016 off to an active start.

Thank you for reading.

Who inspires me in getting active?

Happy New Year! We are in the month of January...The, 'This Girl Can' month!
This dodgy photo was taken when I was 15 years old. (a flipping long time ago)
This time in my life there was only one person who inspired me to get active, and, from my other blogs, you know who that was?
Of course, my Dad.

Without his inspiration and encouragement I wouldn't be doing what I am today, and so well either.
But, who today inspires me to get active? Well, that's easy, it's all my friends and clients who dig deep and get on with it, no matter what the circumstances.

My biggest hero right now is Nigel Barber....yes, I am going to name and shame all of you, because you are truly inspirational. Nigel is in a wheelchair, he jokes about being crippled, but in fact that really is the score. Yet, even considering that, Nigel trains at the gym twice a week and had taken on 2 x handbike challenges for charity, one of 12 miles and one of 15, and I was lucky enough to be able to support him on one of these.
Whatever Nigel has going on, it needs to be bottled. There are some people out there say they can't train, they have a slight pain in their knee or shoulder....Nigel can't walk! And yet he's boxing on a Saturday and lifting himself in the gym with trainer, James, putting him through his paces!
Yes, Nigel would inspire anyone I think.

And actually, anyone with a disability who still gets out there and exercises. They are the true inspiration.

Recently I've had Elise and Bethan start Insanity. Their fitness levels were not high when they started, but they still come along, give it their all and I have noticed how much better they have become. It's about getting out and trying.

And finally, my lovely friend Holly, who has severe back problems that sadly won't be getting any better, trains with me twice a week in The Box Room, doing what she can in kicking and punching. We know her limits, but she still comes in and gives it her everything.

These are just a few of the awesome. There are no excuses, even if you just stand up and sit down 20 times, you are still doing something. Knowing these, and many other inspiring people makes what I do so worthwhile.

What's your excuse? And can you bypass that and do something?

What major hurdles have I overcome?

I tried to give this blog a festive theme, but only really because circumstances exactly 5 years ago are my most major hurdle really.
I was out running the coastpath with a friend, training for an epic 103 mile run for charity. It was touch and go as to whether we should go because the conditions were awful. Ice everywhere, hard to imagine that now.

We set off from Dartmouth and about 3 miles in I skidded on an icy tree root, turning my ankle over and face-planting on the bank. My lovely friend (he's a bit hardcore) didn't accept that I had actually really hurt myself and made me run a few more miles until I was almost crying in pain. He finally agreed to head back and headed straight for the pub, where I took off my sock to find a football-sized ankle.
The run was only in May and training at this stage was vitally important, but I had to rest and recover, which set me back around 6 weeks.

To be honest, for that to be my biggest hurdle I think I've done alright really, but I have seen others struggle, more mentally than physically.
Women who can't go into the gym for fear of embarrassment, or they won't go into an exercise class for the same reason. Us women are difficult creatures and our fears and tensions often seem unreasonable to others, but I understand.

Is your biggest hurdle like this? Do you really want to get motivated but cannot find the right class or gym to train in?
Here's my suggestion - bring a friend! Then we get 2 new women exercising instead of 1. Have a look around at different venues, try a few out. There are even some 'women only' gyms, my Mum attends one and she loves it.

Whatever your hurdle is, there are people out there (me) who can help advise you. No excuses, let's all get moving in 2016.

What are the worst bits about being active?

I have loved 'being active' my whole life, right from when I was 3 years old, doing Ballet.
I do though remember my first negative thought about exercise, and it was way back in middle school and cross-country in the rain.
I loved cross-country running club, but, one winter I found it hard to be enthusiastic about going out in the cold, dark and wet weather.
Once out though, it was fine, it was that initial push out into the cold that was so hard.You run faster in those conditions to keep warm, and get back faster to get dry!

I think a lot of people find it hard to be motivated to get out and exercise outside in the winter. I think the same applies for them getting back out in the evening to go to the gym, when they have been safely tucked up in their warm houses.
Of course, the opposite applies in the summer, when (occasionally) it's too hot to go for a run.

Losing motivation for exercise is definitely one of the worst bits. I always find that if I get bored with something, mainly for me, going to the gym can become tiresome, I simply stop, do something different and find a new sport or exercise to be motivated in.
Plus, mixing it up is better for your body, repetition doesn't always get results, keep your exercise interesting. If you hate running, don't do it, find something that you can really work hard at that suits you.
Keep changing, finding new ways to keep active and you will never lose momentum and motivation.

How does my activity make me feel?

 For this blog, I am changing activity!

Last time I spoke about Kickboxing and Martial Arts, and, to be honest, I covered some of the above in that blog, although from a more personal and mental level.

So, I shall speak of the physical, mostly this time, and with that, there can be only one activity I do, to talk about.
Insanity Live!

In the summer of 2014 I qualified as an Insanity Instructor. I was told beforehand that the class would, 'suit my personality' and other than feeling 'slightly hurt' about being called 'Insane', I did a little research and booked myself onto the course.

So, how did 'Insanity' make me feel that day?
The following words I find the most prominent looking back to that day.
In no particular order....sick, sweaty, sick, hot, nauseous, tired, pained, flushed, sick, excited, rush, sick, hyper........Insane!

You may see that there was a little repetition , but it's necessary to describe the feelings you go through when doing that class.

We were a room full of fitness instructors, all working hard to be our best, but I will be honest, I didn't like anyone else going faster, higher or further than me. My competitive spirit made me push much further.
I guess this is how people feel when they come to my class, except that I'm there encouraging (some may say shouting) from the front of the class, to get the best from them.

The final feelings that Insanity gives you, these are pride, achievement, adrenalin high, buzzing, wired and fit. And no matter how tough it was, you cannot wait until the next time to feel it all over again.
And the best thing? It's a class for most levels and abilities. It's only as Insane as you make it. Work at your own pace and level and get the most from it.

What are the 'best bits' of my chosen activity?

Another interesting and thought-provoking blog title for this week.
I may have to pick just one activity though for this, and because I am focusing mainly on Kickboxing for my own training at the moment I shall choose that.

When you take on a martial art, you don't just take on a physical activity, and so on the very top of the 'best bits' has to be friendship.
Whether it's at Tora, where I train, or one of my own 2 clubs, we have a close-knit and supportive Kickboxing family. You will never feel alone and have like-minded friends.

This is a big thing when wanting to get active, and for a lot of people they are scared to go somewhere on their own for the first time, but you will find that a lot of martial arts clubs are full of friendly and genuine people. Therefore I would recommend a martial art to someone who wants to make friends and get fit. There are many styles and types out there so you will need to find one that suits you, so maybe go and try a few? A lot of clubs will give you one or two sessions free so why not find a club and have a go?

After the 'friendship' side of the best bits, there comes fitness, muscle strength and toning, and at the same time, punching and kicking is a massive stress-buster!
You learn respect, discipline, and of course, learning to fight.
You don't have to be a violent person to practice martial arts, in many ways the people who do it are very calm and friendly, quite the opposite of what you may think.

So why not give it a go?

Who do you like being active with?

Well, being the 'Queen of innuendo' this blog title has made me giggle a lot, but that aside, I shall put on my serious face and discuss this in an appropriate and adult-like manner!

Again, these blog titles are challenging to my little grey cells, although I do like a challenge. When I blog usually it's about something I've done, or want to do and so it's easy.

So.....who, actually do I like being active with? I know who I used to love training with, and that was my Dad, so when I've been running in the past, and in particular for challenges I have tended to choose a man to run with. This may have been subconscious, but my lovely friend Rob Starbuck has been a great running buddy, and actually my friend Steve ran the Dartmoor ultra-marathon with me, even though we were both feeling ill and tired that day I was happy with his company.

Aside from that I much prefer to train on my own, BUT, I am very self-motivated with exercise, and I think with this title I need to go with what most of you would want to read about.
How do you get active with others?
Easy!

Go to an exercise class....... they are the absolute best, not only for fitness, but for social and making new friends, and most importantly....keeping you going time and time again.

I love taking classes, I do a Boxercise class once a week as a private session, straight from work the South Hams Council crew turn up and get ready to punch out their day's stress. Its awesome!

The biggest for me is my Insanity classes, I love it, it's the best class I have ever taken. People love to hate it, they turn up, it's social, it's amazing and they leave with relief that it's over, but still wanting to come back again.
It's not so social as Boxercise, or Zumba, mainly because you can't talk! But the same people come back time and time again and I can see the results.

I guess, I'm a little selfish with my exercise, but I do love to share my dog walks on the moor or the beach, with whichever of my friends wants to come join me, remember, exercise is about movement, no matter how much you do, a stroll on Slapton on a Sunday afternoon is still movement, it's still activity.

Have a think...if you don't exercise but want to, what would you do, and who would you like to do it with? (sorry, I'm still giggling, it's too funny!)

See you next week :)

Debbie