Forget the gym – find your own way to fitness in 2017

The turkey has been scoffed and the last of the chocolates wearily polished off. The festive season is winding down and with the dawn of a new year comes steadfast resolutions to lose the Christmas weight and get in shape for the year ahead.

Many of us will vow to spend more time at the gym or do an extra 10 lengths of the swimming pool, but by February our determination may have faded as the monotony of a new training schedule takes its toll.

However, some wise fitness fanatics have managed not only to exercise long into the second month of the year, but have incorporated it into their lifestyles. The trick, it seems, is not to resolve to lose weight by hook or by crook, but to find an activity you enjoy – and this will be the motivation to keep moving.

Peter Winner, a foot care specialist in Dublin, has always been a keen athlete and he specialises in treating runners at his Runner Pitstop (runnerpitstop.com). So when an injury forced him to slow down, rather than using it as an excuse to rest, Winner took up Nordic walking.

“I have always enjoyed loads of different sports including running, handball, Judo, cycling and canoeing, but I developed a spinal injury in 2008 and literally couldn’t move off the living room floor for two months,” he says.

“I had to make a decision whether to have surgery, allow my injury to slow me down or find another way of moving. So I chose to learn Nordic Walking.”

Nordic walking

This type of exercise is very popular in Scandinavia and northern Europe and while it may look, to the uninitiated, like simply taking a walk while holding a pair of sticks, it is a lot more complicated and requires expert tuition to ensure top results.

“The movement required in Nordic walking is very similar to that of cross-country skiing, which I had enjoyed in the past,” says Winner. “So when I decided to learn, I had the advantage of already knowing some of the moves and after a few hours of training, I was ready to go.”

Winner, who is originally from Hungary, says he began to see an improvement in his back and spine very quickly. “Soon I was up to speed and discovered that it is a fantastic way to get fit and also to maintain weight loss and fitness using 90 per cent of body muscle, as opposed to 45 per cent in regular walking and 65 per cent when running.”

He now goes out about three times a week. “Sometimes I do a four-mile (6.4km) loop in the city but usually I head for the Phoenix Park where it is quieter and more relaxing,” says Winner. “This type of walking is really popular in Europe and I don’t think it will be long before people in Ireland become interested in it too.”

Zoe Hertelendi owns Platform 61 restaurant in Dublin and also works as country manager for an international clothing brand. Having such a busy lifestyle doesn't leave much time for relaxing or exercising, so the Dublin woman has found a way to combine the two.

As a keen yoga enthusiast, several years ago she started taking her exercise onto a different level – literally.

“I love all kinds of yoga and do ashtanga vinyasa and Bikram regularly but I am absolutely addicted to anti-gravity yoga,” she says. “I have been doing it for four or five years now and really love it. It’s great fun but also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Yoga postures

It’s all about doing different yoga postures in a hammock, she says. “There’s a short warm-up but you get into the hammock and are upside down within minutes of starting the class,” says Hertelendi. “Needless to say, it can be very scary for some of the newcomers but most get addicted to it instantly.”

As modern life gets increasingly busy for most of us, Hertelendi says anti-gravity yoga is the perfect way to incorporate exercise, fun and relaxation into the one activity.

“It’s definitely both hard work and fun,” she says. “Our work-outs tackle abs, core, upper body strength and the most ultimate stretching you can get – all followed by the most beautiful meditation in the hammock that’s supposed to remind you of child being in a mother’s womb. It really is amazing.

“I believe it’s very important to find an exercise that is a little more interesting than the usual running or working out as you don’t need to push yourself when it is something you enjoy – you end up craving it.”

Siobhán Walsh also has a bit of a passion for exercising with a difference and instead of heading to the gym or the local aqua-aerobics class, the advertising executive prefers to throw a set of wheels onto her feet and get as much exercise as she can while travelling from A to B.

“I do a lot of different types of exercise including hockey and tag rugby but I also enjoy rollerblading sessions whenever I have the time,” she says. “This can be a solo activity, but I also go with friends, which is great as it is a good alternative activity to going for a walk or a jog, which I actually find quite monotonous.

“So I do think it is good to find an interesting form of exercise, particularly one which allows you to be social as well – because it just makes it more fun.”

And this seems to be key when it comes to figuring out what is the best way to shed the pounds after the over-indulgence of Christmas. Whether it is belly-dancing, kayaking or martial arts, it’s all down to getting out there and having fun.

Water polo anyone?