Gym: Dec 2012 - November 2016

In December 2012 I wrote about my gym induction. The Wells Blue Sports Centre is just seven minutes walk from home and I had signed up.

The proximate cause was Dr Michael Mosley. In August 2012, after his TV programme introducing the 5:2 diet, I decided to give it a go. By December the fat had rolled off - I lost more than two stone. But healthy thinking is contagious: fed up with being a couch potato, I had decided to join the local gym.

So here we are, four years of gym-bunnying later. Recently it penetrated my consciousness that I'm not getting a whole lot stronger. Blaming my poor use of the resistance machines, I took the weight room induction.

There are big advantages to free weight training. But it's complicated learning the exercises and assessing the right weights, much harder than the choreographed resistance machines. Serious home study was required, so I bought the York Dumbbell set and started working through their recommended suite of routines.

Bench-pressing 20kg: things can only get better!

It's good, and this morning I additionally jogged almost two kilometres up the Mendips and back, so that's seen to my warm-up and cardio needs.

Why do I need the gym?

So there you have it. I walked across to the gym an hour ago and cancelled my direct debit. From the beginning of November, if Clare or myself want to use it, we pay-as-you-go.