Since deciding not to run a marathon on this forthcoming Sunday, I have done absolutely nothing that could in any way, shape or form be construed as exercise. Okay, that’s a actually a bit of a lie as I have taken the dog out for a walk most days but to me that doesn’t really feel like I’m doing anything active. Oh, and I did spend a couple of hours digging over the allotment yesterday (and by god did it need it! Only another 10 hours or so until it’s done.) What I mean is that I haven’t been running, gymming, swimming or anything else which might raise my heart rate over 120bpm.

Largely as a result of this but in no little part also as a consequence of eating, drinking, eating, more drinking and perhaps a little more eating, I’ve put on quite a bit of weight - at least half a stone in the last 2 months. Granted, it could be worse. So, motivated by the fact that my trousers are a little too tight in all the wrong places and the bloated feeling I absolutely loathe, I took to the treadmill this afternoon.

I’m attempting a new regime concept at least for the next 6 weeks or so that means I only need to spend about 20-25 minutes on the treadmill or cycle machine for cardio exercise and then about 30-35 minuts doing weights on alternate days. The 20 minute plan for the cardio includes a warm up phase and then repeatedly increasing the speed/effort until you finish with an all out, level 10 effort burst at the end. Ambiguous? You betcha. If you’re really that interested, I’ll explain more fully with graphs and charts.

My goal is to complete 12 weeks worth of dieting healthy eating, cardio and strength training starting from today. 12 weeks is the length of the plan I’m using as a reference (more of which I’ll bore you with later) and starting now means I finish on the weekend of my next birthday and means I’ll be able to celebrate the end of the program and then segue nicely into my next mid-life crisis.

Of course, 12 weeks seems like quite a long time from here, especially with That Time of Year just around the corner. I think I’ll find a nice, gentle half marathon to do in the middle of it all to keep my focussed.