Tone It And Own It: Out And About Week 2
It's week 2 of the Out And About plan. Find out what personal trainer Katie Gormley, has in store for you this week
Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14
Today we are going to step it up a level. This programme is about getting out and about, but it's about getting fitter and more toned too.
Over the course of the last week you have learnt to warm up correctly and the correct style for walking and running. You should keep these points in mind each time you train. If you do, the correct movement patterns will soon become second nature.
Today you will be more challenged as we are moving up to a three-minute brisk walk followed by two minutes of running. As before, each of these five-minute long segments will be repeated four times. So it's 20 minutes in total.
My suggested cool down period is five minutes. You will have exerted yourself pretty hard in today's session so it is imperative that you cool down properly. A warm-up is important to engage body and mind in the activity you are about to perform and to prevent injury. A cool down achieves similar objectives, but in reverse.
Your five-minute cool down should start with you gradually dropping your speed of walk. As you do so you should feel your heartbeat slowing. The key factor of a cool down is to use the same muscles that have just been active, but at a slower rate, so take the pace down gradually. After 2 or 3 minutes you may want to stop and stretch out your muscles. Similar stretches to those used in the warm up will work perfectly.
It can be very tempting to skip this part of the programme as you think you've done the hard work so why bother with it. I promise you you'll feel the benefits hugely when you set out for your next session. A good cool down aids recovery, allowing the muscles and body to return gently to a more relaxed state. Don't forget, this is the opportunity to relax a bit and reflect on the hard work you've just done rather than rushing straight off to the next thing. Cool downs are beneficial and can be enjoyable - they are not to be missed.
It's time to dust your trainers off as we're going clubbing.
There are so many clubs and societies all over the country for any number of different sporting events, groups and associations. This is about breaking out of the mould and finding something new. No cheating and heading for something you've already attended. This has to be something fresh.
To find today's activity use a search engine. I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs here, but put in the name of your town or area along with another term, such as:
Activities
Sport
Leisure
Fitness
Team
I loathe tennis. Despite being into all manner of sports and activities success on the court is something that has perpetually evaded me. Imagine my dismay when this was presented as the best outdoor option in my local area! I have to practise what I preach though so racket in hand off I went. I don't think Kilburn tennis club will be asking me to play for their A team but I did have lots of fun.
Fight your inner prejudice, do something different, at the very worst you'll have a funny tale to tell and you never know, you might just end up with a new hobby.
I hope you're still feeling positive, yesterday was a big step up from the previous week. Not that you weren't ready for it, but credit where it's due, so you should be proud of yourself. Sticking with a programme really pays off as you note your progress so take time to reflect on what you've achieved so far. This is day 10 of the programme. You are doing well, so stick with it.
Today we are repeating Monday's session:
Warm up - five minutes Walk briskly - three minutes Run - two minutes Repeat x 4 Cool down - for five minutes
I always encourage people learning to run not to listen to music at first. It's important to consider what you are doing and to focus on how your body is reacting rather than humming along to Prince. However, as you are now well into the programme, if you think it will motivate you, a few tunes definitely won't go amiss.
There are some amazingly complicated and expensive running shoe plus mp3 player plus computer plus personal trainer combinations available on the market these days. If you fancy that sort of thing, and you can figure out how it works, then great, give it a go, but personally the only prerequisite I have is that you select something you enjoy listening to and that you're player isn't hand held (remember you need to be able to hold those crisps!).
Running: how to win the mental game
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