We are well in 2012 at this stage. This year the Olympics will be held in London. It will be the nearest we will get to having the Olympics on our doorstep. We will all watch the various sports and marvel at the strength and speed of the athletes in the variety of disciplines.
What has that got to do with your own personal fitness and health? The athletes that compete and win medals in the Olympics have been planning their training for the past 4-5 years and doing everything they can to achieve the goal of wining an Olympic medal. The training takes time and dedication.
If you want to make the lifestyle change to get fitter and healthier, you also need a plan. Many people make the comment, “I want to get fitter this year” but they don’t follow through on it after a couple of weeks. The main reason is that they don’t have a definite goal in mind.
An achievable goal for any beginner is to be able to run 5km. This will take about 30 minutes. To achieve this, it will take 10-12 weeks. Get yourself a stopwatch and start with the following:
Week 1: Run 2 min, then walk 2 min… Repeat this 5 times (20 minutes)
Week 2: Run 3 min and walk 2 min… Repeat this 4 times (20 minutes)
Week 3: Run 5 min and walk 2 min… Repeat this 3 times (21 minutes)
Week 4: Run 8 and walk 3 minutes… Repeat this 2 times (19 minutes)
Do the run/walk 3 times a week and leave a day in between the runs, e.g Mon/ Wed and Fri. Make sure to stretch before and after the run. Also drink plenty of water after the run. You will be a little stiff and sore for the first few days but you will also feel great.
Check in next month for the next part of the regime!
Gillian O'Sullivan
Personal Trainer
http://www.gillianosullivan.ie/