Usually when I get back from a holiday I can’t wait to get straight back to the gym, this is probably because I have over indulged on holiday and been disgustingly sedentary during my time away and feel the need to burn off all the extra weight I’ve gained from excess everything!

But not so on this holiday, armed with my pedometer, we calculated that we’d walked nearly 150km in just 6 days. This was a real surprise to us as you don’t seem to notice the distance when every km is steeped in Italian culture and there is something magnificent to see on every corner, and in keeping to our clean vegan diet, there was no fear of piling on the pounds either. In fact I think I may have come back even healthier than before!

 

So on our return I wasn’t in my usual desperate rush to work out, not just because we’d had an incredibly active holiday but because the weather here has turned so hot, it was 36°C when we got back and it can be energy zapping. But as I mentioned in previous posts, I do love to workout so I headed back to the gym for an intense workout – starting with a 5km run then making use of the empty studio to do a circuit which was devised from a post I’d seen on pintrest and also other bits and bobs I’ve done previously in circuit class.

Yvonne’s Back from Holiday Circuit

50 Jump Jack

20 Alternating lunges

10 Tuck jumps

40 Squats

60 High knees

20 Jump squats

10 Burpees

1 minute of skipping between each exercise

Next round

20 chair dips

25 push ups

20 pullovers with dumbbell

Abs

50 crunches

40 bicycle crunches (slowly)

40 pulses

10 leg raises

2 rotational planks

100 mason twists

All I’m going to say is…. ouch!  I knack today, but it’s that deliciously wonderful ache of a good workout and it’s popped me back into the right frame of mind for my summer workout routine as well.

I also got some great motivation at the gym as I was leaving, a friend of mine was on the treadmill banging out 10km in just 52 minutes, so I’m going to take inspiration from her as I’m still relatively new to running and can only manage 5km in 35 minutes which I will need to improve on, but you have to start somewhere right!

Oh and a little tip for those of you who suffer like me from having flat feet and are cursed with shin splints after a run, a friend at the gym recommended I put the elevation on the treadmill to 1, so I wasn’t running flat, it seems to have worked really well. I’ve had no problems after my run where usually I’m in a bit of pain.