insideKENT Magazine Issue 54 - September 2016 | Page 93

HEALTH+WELLNESS

Sarah Ayton, Double Olympic gold medalist (centre)

Work on flexibility and strength

Cultivate a new reason for getting fit

Step one: try and touch your toes. Seriously. You might not win a medal
for being able to get down there with ease, but it’s all to easy to overlook
flexibility when it comes to building up your fitness, which, along with
strength training, is as important a part of getting fit as how far you can
walk, run, or ride. If you’ve never worked out, or haven’t worked out for
a while, a good, supporting strength routine will up your flexibility and
range of motion in no time. Factor a bit yoga or pilates into your fitness
schedule and look up some quick online strengthening routines that focus
on different parts of the body.

If you have been in better shape before, it’s likely your life has moved on from
the last time you cycled a hill route, or made it round an obstacle course in
one piece, so it makes sense that this time round your motivation for getting
fit again should also have changed. If you wanted to drop a dress size,
scrap it – there are reasons it didn’t work before; maybe there’s reasons to
train that are more of a priority to you now than a set of pecs to be proud
of. Perhaps it’s for your health, or just so you can keep up with your kids or
grandkids; whatever your reason, if you can think of a new one to get active
again, it’ll likely motivate you in an entirely different way than before.

Ask the expert…Sarah Ayton (pictured above, centre)
We asked double Olympic gold medalist, Sarah Ayton, for some expert
advice to help those thinking about getting fit.

considers how much time you have. Perhaps being a member of a gym
would better give you the support you need, or maybe you’d enjoy doing
something with your friends.

Hi Sarah! In your opinion, what’s the best exercise for someone
who has never exercised, but who wants to get fit?
The first thing is to find something you enjoy such as walking, cycling,
swimming, dancing, tennis, golf, or something that your local gym has
to offer in terms of group exercise classes and strength and conditioning
programmes. There is no right or wrong; most important of all is to enjoy
the process and the ‘feel good’ factor that exercise gives you.

How important is it to find an exercise regime or sport that you
enjoy when starting out in fitness?
I’m a big fan of finding something you enjoy; being fit has been part of
my job for 25 years, so variety and new challenges are what keep me
motivated. Whatever your goal is, your journey needs to be fun, which will
give you the confidence to try something new while increasing your heart
rate and building a fitter, healthier you.

What about a regime? Is it important to build up the amount of
time you spend exercising when you’re first building your fitness?
It is important you build your exercise programme up slowly and don’t
go crazy in the first week leaving yourself exhausted and not wanting to
exercise the following week. If you’ve not exercised before, or for a while,
then expect to be a little tender in places after exercise – another reason
why building up slowly is important! Give your body a chance to recover
and recharge.

Lastly, what would be your advice to people who think they’re too
old, overweight, or unfit to get fit?
My advice is just to believe you can do it because you can; use the
support of your family and friends, and experts at your local gym too. For
me, being fit is a vital ingredient to being happy - creating time for yourself
to do something you enjoy has a really positive impact on y our mind and
body making you feel energised and motivated to continue becoming
fitter, stronger and happier. Good luck!

The more exercise you do, the more your body gets used to it; muscle
soreness will no longer be an issue and you can increase the intensity
and frequency. Design a realistic routine that fits around your week and

www.goodwood.com/estate/health-club

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