Welcome to my website and my first blog post.
I wasn't really sure where to start, so after plenty of thought and much deliberation, I concluded that I should start by telling you the reasons why I am sharing my journey with you.
Why am I doing this?
I want to help inspire and motivate more women (and men) to get body confident. I remember my grandma telling me to appreciate what you have before it's too late. I must have been about 6 years old when she told me that; we both stood in her dressing room looking at a framed black and white photo of the 20 year old version of herself; the woman in that photo was radiant, beautiful, happy and so confident. Yet at the time, that fantastic 20 year old woman hadn't felt that. It was only now, nearly 50 years later, did she realise how beautiful she was (and still was!). I felt a sadness and regret from my grandma that I hadn't experienced before. I knew my grandma was right, and her words have stuck with me since.
I'm not saying that everyone should get up on stage in a bikini and flex your muscles (although, it is the most liberating and fantastic feeling) but I would love to help people find a confidence to appreciate what they have and to feel good in their skin.
Where should you start?
For me, I found short HIIT sessions were a real success. I understand how easy it is to say "I just don't have time" or "I'm too tired" or "I cant afford it" when faced with the prospect of going to the gym, especially when being a working mum too. So Joe Wicks aka The Body Coach was the best help, I still do his HIIT workouts now. He has free workout videos on YouTube that I would stick on in the morning and get done before I could talk myself out of it. Somewhere between getting out of bed and getting in the shower, I can easily waste at least 10 minutes scrolling through stuff on my phone, so therefore I must be able to find at least 10 minutes to exercise. It sets me up for the day and I am less inclined to want to eat loads of rubbish afterwards too.
These HIIT sessions are adaptable to you, whatever stage you're at and they can be done anywhere too, even with children and pets hovering around. To prove that point, I wanted to share a recent video of me getting through my morning HIIT at home with my puppy.
Enjoy!