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body&soul@thetimes.co.uk

Once you’ve got used to exercising regularly and eating well, it’s easy to slip into a comfort zone, where you don’t push yourself, do the bare minimum and let the “bad days” when you skip exercise entirely slide by. The best way I have found to deal with the bad days is to apply the football manager’s cliché of “taking one match at a time”, or, in this case, one week. By treating each week as its own individual challenge, exercise is easier to plan and focus on, and a bad day becomes part of a short-term crisis rather than an insurmountable long-term problem.

LACK OF TIME

The No 1 reason I hear for not exercising. Some days simply are horrifically busy, and if you commute to work and add children to the mix, time disappears. So this is when planning is crucial. Write a weekly schedule of the xercise you need to complete and plan for it when you’re filling in your diary. Your daily commute is an option to introduce exercise. If you live close enough to work, you can cycle or walk. Try to get out for a brisk 30-minute walk at lunchtime. When done regularly, walking provides an adequate cardio workout.

CAN’T GET TO THE GYM

It is amazing how easily people are put off by the hassle of an inconvenient location. It’s important to join one that you know you will have time to fit into your routine.

LACK OF ENERGY

Exercise is one of the most effective ways of raising your energy levels. Increased oxygen, adrenalin and the feelgood hormone serotonin all give you a rush of energy and a feeling of wellbeing.

UNAVOIDABLE LUNCH MEETING

There is no getting out of some meetings but that doesn’t mean you have to let your healthy lifestyle fall by the wayside. When you’re out for a business lunch, for example, choose not to drink alcohol. If you feel pressure to drink, making the simple excuse that you are following a fitness regimen is an acceptable reason for not doing so.

HIGH STRESS AT WORK

Being highly stressed can make you feel tired and demotivated. When you know you are going through a period of high stress you should try to make sure that you fit in your routine in the morning. The rush of adrenalin and increase in oxygen will make you feel better equipped to cope with the day. When you are stressed you also need to change the way in which you exercise. High-intensity weight training can produce too great an increase in blood pressure and testosterone levels, which will have the effect of making you feel more pressure. Alter your workout to focus on moderate cardiovascular training, ideally swimming, which helps a steady blood pressure rate. You should choose resistance training programmes that allow 20+ repetitions in each set, as this will test the muscles adequately, but not provide a destructive overload.

STIFF FROM LAST WORKOUT

Sore, stiff muscles often make us skip a workout, but if the pain is not a muscle injury, stiffness will reduce significantly by warming up and mobilising the body. Muscles recover effectively within 24 hours of a workout and in the majority of workouts they will have recovered within 12 hours. Try not to work the same muscles on consecutive days.

JUST DON’T FEEL LIKE IT TODAY

Some days are just like that. Don’t beat yourself up too much, you are going to make it up tomorrow – just make sure that you do.

Find out more about Matt Roberts at www.personaltrainer.uk.com

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR MATT?

If you want to ask him about your exercise regimen, e-mail him at body&soul@thetimes.co.uk by Wednesday and he will pick the ten best questions. Read his answers next Saturday at timesonline.co.uk/healthclub

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