I’ll be the first to admit that up until recently, like maybe 4 months ago, I was pretty lazy. Sure I was athletic as a kid, but for the past 15 years or so…you might’ve accurately described me as a bit of a couch potato. Which is odd because my husband’s previous career was in personal training, a service I would’ve had access to for almost 6 years but never took advantage of. I am a bit stubborn, and being a nutritionist maybe I wanted to prove to people that all it takes is a healthy, wholesome diet to maintain a healthy body weight (which, ahem, I have proven to myself for the past 4 years). And to be honest, I do still strongly believe diet is 80% (if not more) the key to health. But I have to confess, I have never felt so good as I have in recent months, and I have exercise to thank. Perhaps it was the wedding looming over my head that sparked the interest in taking it to the next (i.e. first) step, but I must say there is no going back from this point on.

I am (or was) not a strong runner. In fact, I used to run for 15 minutes, huff and puff, stop and walk home. But I am proud to announce that I have since graduated from rookie to intermediate runner! My husby (he doesn’t understand why most people say hubby) and I successfully run about 6km with 4 sets of 146 steps (“the stairs” to fellow Canmorons or “ites”?) and upper body exercises in between about 2-3 times per week now. Each time we go out he pushes me to try one more set, even if it means just walking the steps (he continually pushes himself by hopping by one leg, or piggy backing me up!). And today, as much as I don’t want to admit it, a man who must’ve been 65+ in jeans, a button up shirt and dress shoes showed me up! He mentioned he frequently does 7 sets (at a faster pace than myself I might add). I threw that in there for those of you who think age means you cannot exercise like us youngin’s.

So I may not be an expert, but here are some of my best tips for getting started:

• Get a buddy – find someone around the same fitness level as you, or a bit stronger to help push you, and make a plan to exercise together and keep each other motivated. And if you are someone’s buddy, show up! Don’t cancel last minute on your buddy or it wont be long until this system fails to work.
• Start slow – no need to run a marathon your first summer of getting into shape. Start with where you are at, even if that means walking for 20-30 minutes a few times a week. Just make sure to continue to increase time, intensity or frequency if you intend on improving.
• Have a goal – make it realistic, find out where you are at now and strive for something achievable. If you can run 3km now, try for 5 km by the end of next month.
• Be consistent – the number one lesson from my very personal trainer (ha). The success of your exercise regime is not about going out and killing yourself 5 days a week, but rather working at an intensity that is reasonable and still enjoyable for yourself a few days a week. You may, in time, feel a need to increase intensity, duration and frequency, or you may not. Either way, just make sure you’re getting out there regularly.