Come on own up, are any of you fitness freaks? I know Tellywellies gets on that bike of his and is pretty fit.

I had to attend the gym at the hospital for my cardiac rehabilitation, three times a week for quite a long time, then they referred me to a gym for an assessment. I was supposed to start at the gym before Christmas but a stinking cold put paid to that, then we had Christmas, then New Year.

Finally I started yesterday and took a 'bodyfit' class, it was sort of OK but nowhere near as much fun as the hospital and the only other people in the class were a couple of ladies considerable older than me and the instructress who was stick thin!

Today I tried the actual gym, the place with equipment, and was terrified when I walked in and saw all these people pounding away, running on treadmills, cycling like mad, rowing and all the other bits of equipment. I almost walked out. Anyway it was great fun, I cycled, when on a treadmill (walking only), rowed then cycled again and absolutely loved it. When I got home and checked my blood sugar it was 3.8 and I am not on medication!

I have now cancelled the exercise class which I was booked for next Tuesday and booked the gym again for Monday.

I could really get hooked on this - but dont' tell my daughter, she has been trying to get me exercising for years!

You know, Sue -it could turn out that you really benefit from both, and the results compliment each other, both strength and endurance wise.

My favourite thing [ in the days when I went to the gym four times a week] was a stretch session with other people who became my fast friends. This was great for warming up the muscles and toning the intricate, forgotten places the cardio workout doesn't help much, due to just working the same set of muscles over and over. I also met some wonderful people that way, some of whom are still my friends, after 16 years!

Good for you, Sue!

I go to the gym twice a week, because I have to. I suffered from RSI pretty badly for few years and working out is the only way for me to keep my arms and shoulders from hurting. I don't like going to the gym very much, but I don't mind it too much either.

I don't do the treadmills and all the other cardio stuff, just the weights. And I have to admit I was rather intimidated when walking into that part of the gym. So much testosteron! My sister and I usually are the only women using the weights, but I've gotten used to it. No matter how many guys look at us like we don't belong there, at least I know that I'm doing the exercises correctly. They seem to be there just to admire themselves in the mirrors!

Well, me and Mum try to go at least once a week, maybe twice a week. It depends how busy we are! But although it is daunting when you first join a gym, to see all the fitness people, when you find your own pace, and know your limits, it is great exercise. Me and Mum usually have 10 minutes on the treadmill and then tn minutes on the cross circuit trainer. Then into the pool, and jacuzzi, which is always the nicest bit!

Well done Sue! Exercise can be fun, especially if going to the gym becomes a social occasion too. It certainly seems more of a chore to me if I go cycling on my own.

I know of someone who joined a walking club once he'd recovered from heart surgery. He is quite keen on it now. Perhaps you could consider doing that when summertime comes. Jersey is a super place for walking as I remember. The walk along the cliff-tops from St Ouens Bay to Groznez Castle being a really pleasant one. Loads of other good places to walk or cycle of course ...but some of those hills, Phew!

I don't know your daughter, otherwise I'd tell her that you are exercising now (well, I wouldn't really ).

That's a perfect idea, TW. [I wish there were a walking club around here someplace.]

Maybe there is one on Sue's island?

I loved going to the gym and working out. I used to go 6 days a week and work with machine and free weights for 1 hour and then do 1 hour of cardio. I was in such great shape. *sigh* Now I just do my cardio through walking for 30-45 minutes each day. I take my dog (ClaraSue ) and by the time we're finished she's breathing just as hard as I am, but we both love it. At least I think she does. She's always ready to go when I put my sneakers on.

There certainly are plenty of walking opportunities here in Jersey. Forty five miles of roads have a maximum speed limit of 15 mph so that you can walk without fear of traffic.

This gives you some idea of the walking opportunties

and more...

and more...

however, this one I will give a miss!

At present long walks are not really an option as my calf muscles really hurt after a short time but hopefully I will soon be able to walk distances. I lost last spring and as it is my favourite time of year I hope to make the most of this coming one.

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however, this one I will give a miss!

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I don't know Sue, some of those fellows look pretty handsome! Oh! *ahem* you were talking about the walk, sorry.

Definitely the walk, forty four miles, I think not! It is always in June and can be a wee bit warm. Now perhaps I can get involved in providing water at a rest station somewhere along the line.

I belong to a woman's circuit training club called Bodywise. It's a half hour work-out, three times around the circuit which alternates a machine with a shock absorbing pad (for different kinds of movement).
I try and go at least 3 times a week, as it helps keep my knees from seizing up too badly, with my arthritis.
I have a good friend who also goes, and we try to co-ordinate that as much as possible.

I go to the gym about three times a week, and usually have a sauna afterwards, and have been doing this for more years than I can recall. It's now just a routine part of my social life and I know all the regulars as friends. It must be better than going to the pub, though I do that too, and is both invigorating and relaxing.
I had a high pressure job for years, involving long hours and a lot of travel, and found that a good work-out gave me a good night's sleep. Nowadays I don't work out anything like as hard as I used to, but still enjoy the gym. In summer I do other things such as mountain biking and sailing, and throughout the year enjoy hiking, so not a fitness freak but just find moderate exercise enjoyable.
Two years ago I badly injured my knee in a skiing accident, and though greatly recovered now, find that exercises such as rowing and steps help to keep it from locking up.
Keep up the exercise is my advice, but don't let it be your god, and don't try to 'body build'.

I can't afford to join a gym. If having a toddler, a 60Lb puppy and a husband isn't enough to keep me active and trim, then I'm doing something wrong.

I haven't paid to join the gym, this is a medical referral from the hospital to a States owned facility and I get free sessions as I am unemployed. I was given a pile of vouchers to use by March, I will have to count them to see how often I can go - I might have to have a few swims to use them all.

Some of you know that I lost a lot of weight last summer. I joined the gym (still have a year and a half membership with them too!). Back when I started, I was going 5 days a week. With winter, it's more difficult to get there, but now that the holidays are over, I can get back into a routine. I usually start with about 30 minutes on the machines to tone the muscles, I do some work with the free weights, then I do at least 45 minutes on the treadmill, at a pretty good pace. I don't run, but I do manage about 2.5 miles in that 45 minutes. If it is nice outside, I will walk the lake, which has a 2.5 mile path around it. That is a great workout, because it isn't flat, there are some good little hills to go up and down. My goal for this year is to drop 50 pounds. Wheeeee.

I'm not a freak... really I'm not...

I am seriously impressed - could this be the way for me to drop those pounds which I need to lose?

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I am seriously impressed - could this be the way for me to drop those pounds which I need to lose?

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Most definately. A good friend of mine lost about 20 pounds last year by just adding walking to her daily routine. She hasn't changed her eating habits, still has her dessert, but power walks every day. I used to be skeptical of those that said exercise was addictive, but it's true. After awhile if you don't get in your walk, jog, weight lifting, or whatever your exercise of choice is, you feel like an addict going through withdrawals. My friend admitted to me that her walking time is the best time of day for her and that she so looks forward to it more than that piece of pie after dinner.

I knew that exercise is supposed to be good for diabetics to lower blood sugar but had thought it a longterm measure, I hadn't realised it could go down so much with one exercise session.

sue,

Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. You start slow, and the more you do it, the better you feel, and then you realize you are walking farther, and faster. And yes, it is addictive. I miss not having my almost daily walks. I need to do them again.

My father is the fitness freak in my family, but he got me a part time job in his gym, where I used the equipment for the first time in my life and then did nothing till the shop I was working in got free gym memberships. I managed a couple of months and then tailed off, though I did play tennis about every week for about ten years. Then when my friend with the tennis court went abroad I found a gym with a car park and an attached community centre and have been a regular for over three years. I can lift about twice what I could at the beginning and am starting to show a few improvements though my chest measurement has actually gone down from losing fat.
It's no good for fitness though as it's all anaerobic exercise for me except a little running, and have now been encouraged to go on the aerobics machines more to balance what I do, and maybe I won't be totally done in next time I run round their cricket pitch (2 1/2 minutes, my current limit...). I do like walking though, and often walk for an hour or so in the evening if I'm not too busy on the computer nowadays...

hi sue
i'm a bit of a gym junkie love aerobics and swimming. Normally i swim 3 to 4 times a week for about 45 minutes plus i do 2 or 3 aerobics classes. These include a class called body jam, body balance and a fat loss class. I also do an over 50's stretch class but i'm not over 50 yet just have some knee problems cause by to much exercise strain over the years.

A swimming pool would be why I want to join a gym. Granted, the community pool memberships here are fairly reasonable, and it's about time to get Kit really in the water and learning to swim. (I was already swimming regularly at her age, but then, my mom had me in "water baby" classes before I was even one year old.) My husband worked as a lifeguard for several years and I have done my share of teaching swimming (not formally, but still...) so the backyard wading pool is not going to work this coming summer, we really are going to have to get Kit to the pool.

One of the best pieces of news I ever heard was years ago, I read that walking was better for you than jogging. I used to jog (slowly and not very far), and frankly, I hated it. Then I read about all the damage you could do to your body (heart attacks, shin stress fractures etc) and didn't do much of anything for a few years.
When I started my current job, just over two years ago, I didn't have a company vehicle anymore, or my own car, so I had to use public transport. That involved walking for about 45 minutes a day, and lost about 10kg in the two months that I did it, before I got my own car. Now, I try to walk as often as I can (or feel like!) to keep myself in some sort of shape for cricket, but I sometimes miss the days when I was forced to exercise, whether I wanted to or not!