Sweat, Suffering and Joy – A Fitness Journey

Words by Beth Franklin

Christmas is over, the new year is here and oh boy, have I been struggling to get moving again. Social media is filled with posts about a fresh year, and kicking off the new year with so much ferocity, I swear, pushed me further into my chocolate-filled sofa nest.

If you’re one of the people who jumps at the fresh new year, I truly commend you, and even in the past year that has been me, but this year…this year the struggle is very real, and I’ve been desperate to get some movement back into my routine. Not least because when I paddled out last I was so out of breath you’d think I’d never surfed before.

2022 was probably the most active year of my adult life, so coming into the new year feeling the most unmotivated was a bit jarring and honestly, made me feel even worse. It wasn’t until I hit this spell that I realised how much I had relied on exercise to help my mental health in the darker months, and I was really struggling to find something that would get me moving again. So here if what I learnt about getting back into fitness after Christmas.

First of all, be gentle with yourself – it’s taken me a while to learn, but you have to rest when your body tells you. We’re not saying never push yourself that extra bit, but learning to recognise when pushing will be to your detriment is a huge key to a successful and sustainable fitness journey.

One thing that I credit to keeping me going throughout 2022, was the fact I got a little sheet from etsy and a page of stickers. Everytime I worked out I gave myself a sticker, and each month I’d narrow it down with things like if I can get like 25 stickers for this month I’ll get this new book (or much to my partner’s dismay a new glass to drink from). I’d even give myself small challenges like “if I can do one day of movement while I’m on my period I’ll get myself a Lush bath bomb”. Similar to what my 3-year old niece uses to track her good behaviour, but it really worked for me.

This programme gives you the next four weeks of your health journey on one page. You can get your hands on the Surf Girl Premium membership and follow it for the next week. We have a tendency to be super hard on ourselves and it’s easy to write down an intense plan to challenge yourself but in reality it’s too much. There’s no space to breathe or get some recovery in.

Heather Lewis putting Beth through her paces this month with the ‘Sweat with Heather’ workouts which are part of the 4-Week Back to Fitness Programme.