No, I’m not joking, I know it sounds completely absurd to even try to contemplate the idea of having a healthy Christmas, but just imagine it for a moment. If you managed a healthy Christmas holiday, would facing January be easier? I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas has always been the time of year I eat and drink more in a single month than I do across all other months of the year put together. By the time January rolls around I feel lethargic and heavy and the thought of exercise seems a million miles away, not least because January is by far the coldest month of the year and being outside in my running shoes sounds particularly painful in sub-zero temperatures. If I could be healthier at Christmas then perhaps and I could see my way through a super healthy January without the usual pain and discomfort? I suppose I’ll never know unless I try. I’ve decided that instead of setting over-optimistic goals, I will simply make time for exercise at least 3 times a week over December and I will try to limit the Christmas meals and drinking to weekends and special nights out – of which I’m hoping there won’t be too many. I realise it is the silly season and one should therefore plan for the unplanned events and super silly situations one invariable finds oneself in during this particularly silly and over indulgent time of year. One? I’m using silly language and making very little sense…. and so it begins.
I will be travelling a bit over the Christmas period which often makes this more difficult, so I have decided I will make it my mission to try some new and interesting classes at gyms in both New York and London in order to avoid getting stuck in holiday mode. The problem I have at Christmas is that it’s so bloody cold; I love running and I love exercising when I can be outside but I have always had a passionate dislike of gyms and gym goers (sorry to lump you all together but there are some real ego-maniacs in most gyms), but when it gets cold I simply DO NOT want to be outside in the pissing rain trying to keep warm by running harder and faster and being completely exhausted and miserable by the end of the run. It simply destroys my love of running. I was not built for cold climates but it seems I have made the decision to live in one and although London is a wonderful city, it does not make up for the fact that the winters here are quite inhospitable for Africans like me who enjoy the outdoors. I digress; my point is that there seems to be a movement occurring in London at the moment; all of sudden there are lots and lots of interesting and fun classes taking place in all sorts of nondescript locations and non-gym type establishments across the city in a battle to fight the mundane, and positively outdated, views of what exercise and going to the gym are all about. I, for one, absolutely LOVE the fact that this movement is taking place, and I will be making it my mission to try as many of them as humanly possible throughout 2013 in support of all the awesome people making this happen. For now I will just pick a few to get me going over Christmas. Oh, and if you are also looking for new and interesting classes in London, just check out FitnessFreak.com – they have hundreds of listings in all locations of London that cover all possible fitness personalities.
Ninja Grasshopper 