Shape '' I get so bored'

Shape '' I get so bored''

'HAVING LOADS OF EXERCISES TO CHOSE FROM REALLY KEPT ME MOTIVATED'

Pharmacist Tracy Haumann is 30. She saw personal trainer Christianne Wolff who works at the Pineapple Gym in London's Covent Garden with many top sport stars, concentrating mostly on motivation.

TRACY'S PROBLEM: ' I grew up in South Africa and was incredibly sporty, doing lots of mountain biking, walking and aerobics. Since I came to London in August 1999, I've done nothing. I tried going to the gym but found myself doing the same thing day-in-day-out, and after a couple of months I quit.'

CHRISTIANNES SOLUTION: ' The first thing I did in Tracy's programme was get her out of the gym. It was clear that she didn't really like it and, as the weather was good I told her to head outside to work out. There are loads of things you can do in a park, from aerobic work to using trees and benches to tone up on. I felt this change of scenery would help her remember what she liked about exercise in her past, and I was hoping that once we tapped into that she would start to find more things she enjoyed. I started her off on a programme of running and walking because it's important for easily-bored exercisers to have a workout that lets them tap into their mood each day. I also gave her a list of 30 toning exercises from which she picked seven to do in each workout. these came from loads of different techniques- Pilates, kickboxing and boot camp workouts-and meant she was constantly learning something new, maximizing her results.

'You don't need a trainer to do this: you can pick exercises from magazines, videos or classes. You should also try different sports or activities and find things you enjoy doing- there are hundreds of ways to get fit that don't really involve going to the gym. Finally, I asked Tracy to set herself a couple of realistic goals each workout- walking the same distance a minute faster or doing three more push ups. By trying to meet goals and by altering them each time, you keep the body challenged and the mind focused'

THE RESULTS : Tracy lost 6lbs in a month and went from no exercise to working out for six hours a week.' The best thing was that instead of just plodding my way through a programme, I really tapped into how good I could feel when I exercised' says Tracy. 'By having loads of things to chose from, I was never forcing myself into an exercise I didn't want to do, so I never felt negative. Also, because I didn't feel I had to do it all every day, when I did want to challenge myself- by running for longer or doing the hardcore boot camp stuff- I did much better than I thought I would. This helped to keep me motivated. I've rejoined my gym buts it's not going to be the only thing I do. I'm still going to work out at home outside, to keep me focused.'