Keen gym bean.

It's become a little bit busier at the leisure centre. I blame it on New Year's resolutions. Everybody is keen to finally get back in shape and start a new healthier life. Although I'm all for being healthy and fit, I actually can't wait for mid-to-late February when all those keen beans become less keen and there will be more space in the pool and in the dance studio.

In any case, January is the worst possible time to start exercise routine. It's probably dark (and most likely foggy) when you leave in the morning, so forget about a happy 6am swim. It's too depressing not seeing any sunlight on your way to the gym. In the evening, it doesn't get much better. Dark again, already at 6pm when you finally make it home from work. And cold. You're cold on the way there, and on the way back you're far too hot, so you undo your coat and probably get ill: being awfully sweaty and cold winter wind do not go together well. Yes, getting out of the house in winter is a challenge in itself, not to mention the challenge of actually surviving this hour in a crazy fast-paced danceatomic class.

Having said that, I do make myself get out of the house a few times a week. My fitness routine has admittedly been rather patchy recently, but I'm trying a three week swimming programme, so I suppose I'm one of the keen beans as well. Only I'm planning to carry on for the next 10 weeks. Fingers crossed. I've even purchased a pull buoy to motivate myself.

It's just getting out of the house in this cold that stops me from becoming a fit keen gym bean. The Even Smaller Island is really quite cold in January. I can't wait for March when it will finally get a bit warmer, without the fog pretty much each morning and with more sunshine. Just need to hold on to those glow sticks and to the pull buoy until then!