I really believe that circuit training is one of the best forms of fitness.  It is so varied and includes cardio vascular fitness and resistance training, using both body weight and equipment.  It gives great overall fitness, so helping to firm up the body, reduce weight and not forgetting it gives you that wonderful feeling of wellbeing.

I’ve been looking for the ideal studio space to hold the sessions in and have found a great space on Marston Industrial Estate.  It is a new fitness studio at:

Lifecare Health

Manor House

Unit 6 Manor Rd

Marston Trading Estate

Frome BA11 4BN

The classes start properly from Wednesday 10 November at 7.30 pm and will cost £6 per session, or £25 for five sessions.

So, if you are interested in coming along to the taster session why not give me a call or email me to book your free space and for details of how find the studio.

I’ve known Zita for a year or so and used to join her Saturday morning sessions at Alexandra Park in Bath.  Then in August she asked me to cover her early morning weekday sessions whilst she had some time off.

You know, there is nothing better than training outside on an early summer morning, or any early morning to be honest.  For a start you feel intensely smug because you are exercising whilst everyone else is in bed, and secondly exercising just makes you feel so good and helps you stay fit and healthy!

So anyway, the new sessions are taking place on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6.30 am to 7.15 am at Beacon Hall, Peasedown.  Don’t groan!  Once you get started it will just become routine and you won’t even notice the time – just the fact that you are shedding weight, toning up and feeling fab!

 We are starting with a three week trial from Monday 4 October and we will run a taster session on Saturday 18 September.  If you are interested and want more information give me a shout on 07970 122842 or email me on kate@exerciseeasy.co.uk

Why don’t you join me for a training session between Christmas and New Year and beat that turkey after a period of excess!!

Christmas will soon be upon us and it is the time of the year that we like to spend with family and friends.  We are invited to parties and gatherings with copious amounts of food and drink. 

On Christmas Day, after opening the presents, we may have a gin and tonic or a glass of wine or a  beer .  We have a wonderful meal of turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and vegetables, then Christmas pudding with cream or brandy butter, followed by cheese and biscuits.

After lunch we move in to the living room to watch television and crack open the Quality Street or Roses.  Maybe we will have another drink and then someone might make a batch of turkey sandwiches followed by Christmas cake or mince pies to go with a Baileys on ice or another glass of wine.

Does that all sound familiar?  Well, if it does why don’t you join me and beat the turkey at 10.00 am on Tuesday 29 and Thursday 31 December at Victoria Park.  I am running an hour long outdoor circuit class, for all levels of fitness, whatever the weather and would love to see you there.  Each session will cost £7.00 or book both and pay £12.00.

If interested and would like to book a place, please contact me through my website or call me on 07970 122842.

I have found that training with others can make such a huge difference. In fact you don’t even need to actually train with someone. Simply arranging to meet at the same time and same place and then going your separate ways can be enough to give you that motivation.

For the last couple of years I have been mostly training on my own, but I do have the safety net of arranging to meet others at the same time and place and even setting off together. Then suddenly training doesn’t feel such an effort. Sometimes I go running or other times I do circuit training and even this can be done on your own but setting off with others.

However last Saturday I decided that it was time I joined an organised group and took part in a outdoor circuit session and trained just for me. What can I say, I had a wonderful time. It was so good to go training in a group and not be responsible for the training session; to turn up and just do as I was told; to work hard and not have to think about anyone else. I loved it. I have signed up for next Saturday too!!

What I am trying to say is, make it easy for yourself. If you make a commitment to others and then duck out of training then you are not just letting yourself down but someone else too. So if you think you are going to struggle to commit to a training programme then arrange to meet someone else at the same time. This makes it much more difficult to duck out, even on the coldest, wettest, darkest winter evening.

For me, last Sunday, it was more of a stroll. I had been out for the day and returned in the evening and felt the need to do some sort of exercise but wasn’t really in the mood for a hard run so a friend and I decided to go for a walk. We drove to the nearby canal and walked for a couple of hours or so along the tow path. The canal goes through the most beautiful countryside and follows the River Avon. There are many barges moored up along the canal sides and the smell of wood smoke is wonderful . At that time in the evening it was mingling with the smell of cut grass and barbeques. It was such a peaceful feeling.

On such a mellow evening as we walked we relaxed and it led us to start talking about life and the world. We found it incredibly theraputic to just chat, plan and put the world to rights. So we walked and chatted for a couple of hours, fought off the midges and then went home feeling we had at least done some exercise, however low, and that we had had a chance to talk things through till all felt well with the world. Now to me, that has to be a good reason to do exercise of any sort!!

I have recently introduced circuits to one of my clients. Originally she wasn’t very keen and somewhat intimidated, as are many people, but she is now a complete convert and really enjoys them. Her fitness levels have rocketed so we have intensified the training session to reflect this. Consequently, her running speeds have greatly improved too.

A basic circuit can consist of a 10 minute warm up, followed by some stretches. Then comes the fun part, the actual circuit. The easiest way is to set yourself 8-10 stations and do 10 repetitions at each station for the first circuit, have a two minute rest and then do eight reps, a two minute rest and finally 6 reps. The sort of stations to do are sit ups, press ups, burpees, sprints, high knee lifts, squat thrusts, star jumps, the plank, squat jumps to name but a few. My client’s current favourite is standup liedowns. Yes, you simply stand up and then lie down and repeat . Its amazing how tiring it is.

As you gain in fitness then the station can be more intensive. For instance change a star jump station to burpees. Also change the repititions to time. So for instance, spend 30 secs or a minute at each station rather than doing a number of reps can really increase the intensity. Another idea is to either run to the next station, if training outside or run around the hall between each station.

A circuit can be set up to overload certain muscle groups, so a number of stations all working the same muscles can be put together, then the next set of stations can work another muscle group and so on. A class can work in pairs, so whilst one person is doing a cardio exercise the other person could be doing a strengh exercise. The station time can be dependant on how fast the person is doing the cardio. This really focusses the mind of individuals as the length of time is depdendant on effort.

I hope you are beginning to get the idea of the variety of circuits and the sort of fun and camaraderie circuits creates.

Summer is ideal to start circuit training as they can be done outside in relative comfort. However, don’t think that they cannot be done outside in the winter. Its just a bit more muddy!!

I run with one of my clients and at the moment we are running around Friggle Street which is just outside of Frome in Somerset. It really is the most beautiful run once you get off the main road. The lanes follow the fields and run along the side of a beautiful wood that has recently been full of bluebells. As we run I can look across the fields dotted with trees and it feels as if I am a million miles from busy roads and other people.

This Sunday, in spite of the lack of sun it was still very beautiful. The fields are that lovely soft green we have at this time of the year. and as we came up the hill to the woods I caught sight of wild foxgloves in the verges. They glowed pink in the morning light against the bright green of the nettles and grass. We continued along the lane, past the second house with loud barking dogs. I am always relieved they are behind a very thick hedge and large gates, and then down to the cross roads. There is a lovely short sharp hill at this point and we took great delight in sprinting up the hill as fast as we could. The hill is over and done with before we have time to be too tired as we drop down the other side, down to the little hamlet.

This run is a joy for me and a chance for my client and I to catch up, for me to give any running points I wish to make and to encourage her as much as I can. We seem to be able to put the world to rights along these lanes and life always seems so good at this time in the morning – even on a cold morning in the winter.

As we head back to Frome we have another vicious little hill which often catches us if we are tired, but again today we sprinted up, my client pushing me all the way – much to my joy – yes, honestly! She should be pushing me all the way round and will do so at some point in the future.

I always try to increase my speed when running a hill. This prevents your speed falling back as you hit the hill.

We finished by skirting part of Frome and sprinting to the end. Although tired it felt so exhilarating. How can a person fail to enjoy distance running when you can do the eight at eight on a Sunday!!

K

The point of this blog is to share my experiences and to give any tips to those of you out there wishing to learn more about the joys of fitness and believe me it is a joy being fit, staying fit and becoming fit in the first place.

I live in the South West of England, in a market town called Frome, 13 miles from Bath and I am in the process of developing my personal training business and I am loving it. The majority of my training is done at client’s homes or outside in all weathers and even in the driving sleet and rain it is still exhilorating and exciting. Besides, when you are doing a set of crunches, a bit of mud never did anyone any harm!

All of you out there, whether you are new to fitness, an old hand like me or a half way betweener, I hope will enjoy reading my blog.