Let's Talk About Fitness...

A bit of a new topic for me today; fitness! It's something that I'm trying to work into my routine and I'm hoping it'll be a regular feature over on Hello Freckles too.When I was at university, I was pretty active. I went horse riding as part of the equestrian society and I really enjoyed snowboarding with snowsports. Even before university I kept active, I would go running quite regularly and my sister and I often went to metafit classes. Trust me if you've never experienced one of those classes, you seriously feel the burn after metafit.Since graduating and getting a job, I've found it really difficult to work some form of exercise into my routine. Watching Anna's vlogs and seeing how she's getting on with running, a huge congratulations on the 10k, is really inspiring and this video from Estée really made me think.I want to get back into running, it's cheap with no monthly fees, totally flexible with no awkward opening times to work around and it's fun. Yes it's a bit more challenging this time of year with shorter daylight hours and a bitter chill in the air, but I'm gonna try to force myself out of bed and get out there.While I'm no expert, I do have some tips for anyone who wants to get into running:Get some good trainersI have these Nike Zoom Structure 17's* from sportsshoes.com If you're new to running and you have no idea which trainers to go for, check out this guide on their website. It's really easy to work out which shoes you need and make sure you've got the right support. Mine are really comfy and super bright (though the latter isn't exactly necessary) They've also got some amazing deals on this week for Black Friday, so don't miss out!Wear a sports bra Knowing what level of support you need is really important too. Running is a high impact activity so wearing a sports bra that suits that, will make all the difference. I wear the Adidas Supernova* which is really comfy and perfect for running and high impact workouts. It's also got climacool technology that helps to keep you dry and reflective strips to help you be seen when you're out running. Though let's be honest, right now I don't wanna be running around with my stomach out - it's a bit chilly for starters and I'm pretty sure no one wants to see that!Set goals and track your progressNo one can suddenly run 10K without training, so don't expect instant results. It'll take time but set yourself goals, whether you want to take part in the next local 5K, run the Berlin Marathon or just feel a bit better in yourself; set achievable goals and work towards them. Tracking your progress will show you how you're doing, I use the Nike Running app which is free to download from the app store. The app maps out your run and you can set challenges and reminders too. It's really easy to use and my favorite part is the virtual trainer telling you when you've reached the next mile/km.Find a routine that suits youRunning every day might not work for you and that's absolutely fine. Right now I'm aiming to run once a week, maybe twice if I can but both of those will be at the weekend. I don't want to run after work in the dark, but when we start getting lighter nights I'm sure that'll change. If you want to run with someone else to keep your motivation going, then do it. Enjoy it!Running is great to relive stress and clear your head. Exercise releases endorphins so you'll feel good about it, whether you run 1 mile or you run 10. It's not a race and no one is going to judge your tomato face, or laugh if you need to slow down to a walk sometimes. It's absolutely fine!Hopefully we can motivate each other and I'd love to know your thoughts on running and fitness. What do you do to keep active? Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this, I'm happy to write about my goals and the targets I'm setting myself if that would be useful to anyone else (as well as for me, so I know I need to do them once I've told the entire internet it's on my to-do list) I've really enjoyed putting this post together and would love to do more!