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

What is my active goal?

Hi again everyone. Well, the topics for these blogs are certainly challenging for me.

What is my active goal?

This is completely dependant I think on age and circumstances and also ever-changing depending on the day, week, month, or even year!

So I shall talk about me, because that's what is wanted from these blogs, and currently my active goal is very focussed on my Tora Kickboxing grading.
I have stopped long distance running for it, included major stretching work into my exercise timetable and also cut the endurance work right back.
Being flexible and strong for this is key so I have completely re-designed my training schedule and so far so good!

Ask me this question again in another year and it could all change again, I will be a year older, my body is changing, my goal may well be just to keep taking classes without illness or injury.

I certainly won't be gunning for PB's, but may still be training those guns! I think it's good to keep changing those active goals, you can only improve by mixing it up a bit, plus, with an attention span like mine, I can't stay doing one thing for long.

So.......what is your active goal?

What barriers have I found in my life to keep me from being active?

Welcome to my 2nd 'official' blog...........
The title of this one threw me a little, because I am one stubborn woman when it comes to me getting what I want, and pretty much, not much is going to stop me.

I thought though, for a very long time at my history of sport and exercise (it's a long history) and came up with the following as examples of what has held me back with my goals in the past.

So......this is the BIG one, the one that very active people can't help but suffer from at times, and that is INJURY!
I've suffered small breaks of toes etc.during Kickboxing, nothing that held me up too much, but I do remember when I was training on the coastpath for my 103 mile run, one Sunday with my friend and I skidded on a tree root and turned my ankle over. My friend is a hardcore policeman and didn't want to hear my moans about the pain I was in and made me keep running. Eventually he realised that I had really done some damage but by then, it was too late. I had a really bad sprain that kept me off training for weeks. It was awful.
At the same time the other thing that has prevented me from running also hit.....ILLNESS, I got FLU!

But, funnily enough, the enforced rest I had by having flu for a week gave my ankle good quality time to heal up, so it was probably a blessing in disguise!

I guess a problem that lots of us have is TIME, or a distinct lack of, but I have recently found a way with clients that they can train in just 7 minutes if that's all they have. It's a new approach, I always thought that 20 minutes was a minimum, but, pushing it for 7 minutes is a great way to do something, so really, there are no excuses.

What has kept you from being active? Can you share similar stories, or are there other reasons that you have?
So.....you have 7 minutes.....get out there and do something!
See you next week.
Debbie :)

What motivates me to get active?

Well hello there, my official first blog, a brief introduction to who I am...although, the more you read my blogs, I am sure that you will easily get to know me!
I'm Debbie Miller-Wright and for the past 4 years I have run my own fitness and Martial Arts clubs, called, Fighting Fit Devon. I started this business after being made redundant from another job, I basically turned what was my hobby, into my business and life.

I guess, from that introduction and the title of this blog, 'what motivates me to get active?' that it should be fairly self-explanatory. The thing about this blog and this campaign, it's about us girls, and we are far from simple to understand! With our wonderful feminine creative personalities there is way more that motivates me than just my work.

I started Ballet at 3 years old, basically I was uber active from young. How you are now has a lot to do with how you were brought up, and how you were as a child.
I was active, excitable and my parents encouraged this in me with dance lessons, music lessons, Brownies, Girl Guides, after School sports clubs. They supported and encouraged me and with this it inspired me to be a 'do-er' from a young age.

I lost my lovely Dad to Cancer when he was just 54 years old. This life event changed me, in that I realised that life, could very possibly be short. Life had to be lived, but healthily.

So, what motivates me to get off my butt and go to the gym, to Kickboxing or even for a long walk with the dogs on the coastpath?
The fact that I am alive, and I can.
This Girl Can, so, the question is.......can you?