Diet & Fitness 

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Do you need a breakover?

If you've been jilted, don't get angry - get fit, says Siobhan Mason

The end of a relationship is the perfect time to drum up the motivation to kickstart a fitness routine. Maybe you feel fat, ugly and unlovable and hope a few sessions at the gym will turn you into a desirable babe again. Perhaps it's a case of wanting to fill those aching gaps in the evenings or weekends or feeling that taking to a punch-bag is the only way to release all pent-up hostility. Then there's the sudden realisation - heaven forbid - that one day you will be naked in front of someone new. That alone is enough reason to send you scuttling to the gym.

'You might spend a few days feeling grotty, lying in bed crying and looking at old photos,' says martial artist and personal trainer, Ann-Marie Millard, co-author of Kick Your Way to Fitness(Thorsons, £12.99) and founder of Fusion Fitness, a national agency of martial artists and personal trainers. 'But after the initial misery, you start to think, "I'll show him. Just wait until he sees the new me. I'm going to look fantastic."'

Aiming to look drop-dead gorgeous so that your ex regrets ever letting you go may seem like misguided motivation, but if it's effective in getting you off the couch and improving your health, who cares? 'Vanity's a great motivator,' says Millard. Whatever your goal, after a break-up concentrating your energies on working out can do wonders for your psyche as well as your physique.

'When I split up from my last boyfriend, I went on an exercise binge,' admits 26-year-old Nicola Harrison. 'I biked to work everyday and went running in the evenings. I thought to myself, "Look what I can do, I don't need you - here's what you're missing." Exercise every day helped me feel confident about myself physically, but it also helped me feel in control and independent.'

'The break-up of a relationship is painful, no matter who initiates it,' says London-based life coach and ashtanga yoga instructor, Michael Myerscough, 'but you can turn that pain into something positive by taking up regular exercise.' In fact, he insists that it's impossible to work out and feel miserable at the same time. 'Working out keeps the rational side of your mind busy, while your subconscious gets on with processing everything in the background,' he says. 'Exercise also releases endorphins - your body's own feelgood chemicals - giving you the same feeling as chocolate without the calories or the cavities.'

Liz Murray, aged 30, found that a weight-training session three times a week was the perfect outlet for her anger after being ditched by her man. 'I started exercising because I wanted to look better, but kept it up because it made me feel so great. If I'd had a miserable self-pitying day, I knew going to the gym would make me feel fantastic for at least 20 minutes afterwards.' In short, a regular workout can help keep you sane. The fit, toned body that results is just an added bonus.

Here's our guide to finding the perfect type of exercise to suit your particular break-up woes.

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