Helen Jenkins top tips to get active

Many of you will know of Helen Jenkins as a professional triathlete but now she is the mum of two and like so many women finds it hard being active.

These are her top tips to help you get started or keep you motivated. 

1. Are you a morning or evening person? When is it easier for you to exercise?
I am a morning person, if I leave my exercise until the evening I find it so much harder to get it done, it takes a lot more mental effort than a morning session.

You may be the other way. Work with your natural tendencies. And make life as easy as possible for yourself, if the plan is to train early get everything ready the night before, I even prep drinks and a quick snack, the less decisions I need to make the better! If you are training in the evening get your kit ready in the morning, having everything ready to go and in sight is the visual reminder to get training!

2. I don’t think anyone is 100% motivated all the time and if we buy into the ideal that people are, if we absorb the media around us telling us a million contradicting things about health, fitness wellbeing it can all feel quite overwhelming .

Try and block out the noise, focus on moving your body in ways that you enjoy, being active is for health but also enjoyment. And we all have days we don’t want to do it, when motivation is low. On those days put on your kit and just start small, say you’ll just do ten minutes of exercise and see how you feel, sometimes getting the kit on and out the door is the hardest part.

3. Train with friends, arrange to meet people. Making activity social can really help. I love my weekly rides with Her Spirit, they are scheduled at a certain time so I can’t put it off! There is always lovely women to ride with and push ourselves – which always seems easier with company.

This is sometimes easier said than done, as busy lives don’t always match up for training, so use the groups on Her Spirit, post your training, join in the training plans. Racking up my minutes of the HealthHub gives me a sense of achievement.

Why not join Helen for a LIVE indoor cycling session or use her 10K or Half Marathon plans. Find out more about Her Spirit – Find our more