There comes a time in a girl’s life when she has to think about keeping fit. Realistically, that time came and went some time ago for me. To be fair though, it isn’t a consideration that I have entirely ignored. Over the years I have offered more than a nod in the direction of exercise and have a reasonable residual fitness level as a result.

But if I’m going to be entirely honest, for me fitness is not about resting heart rates and a sense of well being. I can live without the aching muscles and physical tiredness that you get after a hard session at the gym and I’ve never been that turned on by endorphin rushes. No, it’s all to do with vanity. If I’m going to make an effort to do some exercise, it will be in the pursuit of the body beautiful and preserving what I have left rather than ensuring a certain fitness level. If things stayed put without me having to bother exercising then I wouldn’t.

With that in mind it’s not always easy to know which exercise path to choose. I have done gyms and I am quite disciplined once I start going. But after a while it’s just so dull. No one seems to chat so I take to wearing my ipod and not conversing either and then it’s really boring. There are plenty of classes around but I have a phobia of having my time accounted for and so I’m really nor keen on regular commitment. I did run a bit last summer and I enjoyed that but I went at sparrow’s croak and ran around the woods in the sunshine. In the dark when it’s cold and muddy, running loses its appeal.

So I have turned to the exercise video. The fact that I call it that shows how long it is since I last had one. It was Jane Fonda’s Workout in the early 80’s and it was all about leg warmers and feeling the burn. This time round I bought Davina’s Body Buff and set to in the sitting room. She’s so smiley that you can’t help but smile too and she offers little words of encouragement to camera which makes you feel like she’s talking to you and you alone. I wouldn’t say that it’s fun exactly but it could be worse.

And so far so good. I’m making an effort to fit it in to my life in the same way that I used to make gaps for the gym. It’s a bit repetitive  but I haven’t done it often enough yet to know exactly what’s coming next so it still retains a small element of surprise. As for results, well we’ll have to wait and see but hopefully when we get to summer and the big reveal, the situation will be no worse than it was last year and it may even be a bit better. I know that just like King Cnut, I can’t hold back the tide of time but I can give it a run for its money!