Exercise love it or hate it?

Exercise is something that most of us know we need to do but actually doing it is another matter all together. I have always been a bit sporadic in doing any exercise. I start doing some then make excuses up in my head as to why I cant do any today then it just sort of stops happening, but there is no doubt at all that exercise is a major key to helping with our mental health. It gets the endorphins going in the brain, it improves sleep, helps with stress, improves mood, helps with confidence, gets you outside into nature, helps with memory & brain function, can get you meeting new people and a big one for peri-menopausal women its good for helping with bone, muscle, heart health and so help protect against future heart and osteoporosis issues. This is just some of the ways exercise helps with mental health. I have done all sorts of things, when i was in early peri-menopause but wasn't actually aware of it, I started doing Joe Wicks to help me lose weight and generally feel better, it worked that's for sure I felt loads better for it but it became a bit of a chore and that's when I lost interest.

As I mentioned in an earlier Blog I'm currently doing a number of things, cold water swimming is something i do a couple of mornings a week sometimes more if we are feeling brave. I love this its so invigorating, we are lucky to live near Lake Ullswater, I go with a group of 5 friends because its never really wise to go alone and lets be honest its much more fun doing it with others. We do wear wetsuits and we all have floats and lights when its dark. I do fully intend on going right through winter and have got a winter wetsuit that I'm not in quite yet, trying to hold out until we are cracking ice on the lake. I have a towelling robe, dri-robe hot water bottle for when I get out and then having got dressed warmly afterwards we have a natter usually round a box of chocolates and hot drinks. The benefits of cold water is widely publicised, and i have recently listened to Wim Hof's book "The Wim Hof Method" its really interesting so definitely worth checking out.

The other thing I have recently go into is running. The ladies I swim with all do running of some sort and have done marathons, Ultras etc, so I decided to give it a go. Ive never been a runner but because I started going to a local running group and now also do a local Park Run I find it easier not to back out of. Ive definitely seen an improvement and can now do 5K park run without stopping and thats just in a couple of months of doing it. Its great cardio and my legs are much stronger from running and swimming, and i can see the change in my body shape.

I also joined a local squash club, this is something I did as a youngster and loved but haven't done it for many many years. Its all coming back to me now and im loving it. Its very therapeutic hitting a ball against a wall and again a very good social sport.

Finally for now the other thing I do is some weight/cardio classes with a local PT trainer. I started off by doing a 6 week beginners course learning how to lift weights and making them less scary. I am now continuing with weekly classes that he puts on that's a combination of weights and cardio circuits. This is a good all round class and i can feel the benefits of lifting weights even if im cursing through the entire class.

All of these things im doing is part of a group or class and im finding that its less of a chore to go to these things because there are others there and its very good for meeting new people with a similar mindset and also some are going through Peri-Menopause so its good to have people who have an idea of what your going through too, however any exercise is good so even a brisk 10 minute walk is a good start, so what you wating for don't think about it just pull on your trainers and get out in the fresh air and see where it takes you.

Much Love Jo x