Being healthy and active are lifestyle choices that are no-ones responsibility but your own. We choose what to eat, how to move and how to interact with others.

Today I want to hit more on the topic of physical activity. You have the walking down-pat by now and you are consciously being more active with your incidental exercise but when it comes to a home or gym workout what do you do?

After my kids were bigger and I ditched the pram, it was then that I embraced early morning solo runs. I was able to get out before they were up and while my husband ate his breakfast I could run up, down and around our hilly dirt tracks. I would clock up between 8-10km every day and this would leave me ravenous for the entire day; a nightmare when I was trying to lose fat by restricting my food intake. Little did I know back then this mammoth cardio output did little to change my shape or lose fat but I will admit that I was pretty fit. Flash forward to know, like everyone our lives seem to only be getting busier, and I like to be in and out of the gym in 30 minutes preferably. I still get up early before the kids but I spend this time building muscle and burning fat through high intensity exercise that pushes my body and instigates the healthy body composition I looking for, more muscle and less body fat. You just have to push yourself; think sweaty, puffing and some muscle burn.

So, the good news is that you don’t have to spend hours upon hours in the gym or running 20km a week. Get in there, give it all you got and let those metabolism-boosting hormones do the rest for the following hours, even days. You will reap the benefits of both cardiovascular fitness and strength gains in a much shorter period of time. Even if its 10 minutes, make them count!