How many of you have always exercised no matter what?

How many of you think I must get around to sorting an exercise regime?

How many of you find it hard to get motivated?

Well, we are all totally different when it comes to exercise. Some of us struggle and for some of us, it comes naturally. Whatever we are I think we all know that exercise, in whichever way you choose to do it really is great for not just our bodies but for our mental health and some of us need all the help we can get when we are suffering from Peri/Menopausal symptoms. I’m going to take you on my journey of exercise and my love-hate relationship with it.

Throughout my life, I have done a multitude of different types of fitness. I guess it started when I was young. I was a dancer and loved my passion for Ballet. From the age of around 4, I think! and when we finally moved down to Devon from Farnborough. I continued my interest in dance and joined what was called Pamela De Waal School of Dancing in Paignton. That was it I was addicted, every school holiday Mum and Dad would be taking me down to the Studios to either take part in a lesson, do an exam, rehearse for a performance for a show or pantomime, or to learn solo duets, trios for our festivals that happened throughout the year to fight for 1st place of course!

You would’ve thought because my dad was a Pro Footballer I would’ve started kicking a ball about but it wasn’t meant to be. He loved watching me perform and sometimes cried in the audience when I was playing a sad character like the Little Matchstick girl LOL he loved it as much as I did.

Ballet and Dance started my body on possibly the best start it could get. Strength - Focus- Balance - Cognitive Strength.

All the things you need for the future especially when doing exercise.

Anyway, fast forward to adulthood and I did everything from the Gym, Running (God I hate running) although I loved sprinting at school. I went back to Ballet and back up on pointe!!! I’ve done aerobic classes, and general strength training, and one of my favourite sports was rowing, doing a little Coxless Four. The best fitness ever and I really miss it, however, I suffered a slipped disc in 2013 and ended up having a microdiscectomy so it was putting too much strain on it unfortunately. Since then I have done the odd Gym session.

The next fitness fixation for me was founded through Lockdown (remember that? weird as hell time) I got into Own Your Goals and did a workout pretty much every day, I loved it. There are hundreds of workouts something for everyone. Then I felt like I had been sucked up into a whirlwind and spat out leaving my happy body and mind somewhere else. I felt like something weird had happened and I was going into the Twilight Zone or something. I couldn’t bring myself to do exercise, I had zero motivation and my shoulders started to hurt when I was lifting my weights.

I read a lot so I decided to buy every book out there to understand where I had gone. and what was happening to my body? Then the light bulb moment came and I discovered by myself that I was starting to go through Perimenopause. I was relieved because I knew that I could stop how it was making me feel. You obviously can’t stop nature but you can dam well help it in every way possible.

I got myself on HRT to replace the falling hormones and have gradually started to feel more like myself but in a different way. I took it upon myself to spend a fair bit of money on a training course so that I could help others going through what I all of a sudden went through.

So as we speak I have just signed up again for Own Your Goals and have started my favourite boxing workout mixing it up with Yoga and strength training. I’m loving it again and remember how I felt when I started. Great for the Mind, Body, and Soul.

If you want to join up ( I do not get paid for this) I have put a link on my product recommendation page. You can start a 7-day free trial and possibly join me sometime when they do a group fitness event.

I hope this helps in some way to either start your fitness journey or get back to it at some point.

Love Claire x
( I have just stood up from writing this and now walking like John Wayne and the muscles in my back wow the boxing really does work your muscles, such a great although painful feeling)