Kate Hawkesby: Exercise can be embraced at any age or stage

I am very late to the party on exercise. I've never been a fan of it. Even though the stats are strong, that it's irrefutably the best thing you can do for both your physical and mental health, I just never got my 'thing'.  Yoga I did for years because it was enjoyable and stretchy.. ie.. you're not really breaking a sweat. Pilates I love, but again, my commitment over the years has come and gone. But I've never been a gym bunny or an exercise junkie like many of you up at this hour of the morning are.  I'm always in awe of the people who text me saying they're out running or walking or on their way to the gym at this hour. That's impressive. I tend to identify more with the listener who’s still in bed and just got a bit of radio on in the background while they think about what to make for breakfast. Food is always my first thought in the morning, not exercise. Anyway, the World Health Organisation says adults should be doing two and a half hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity, as well as muscle strengthening activity. So I've been failing on that score, up until now. I'm here to report that despite all my misgivings, intense exercise can actually make you feel different. My physio told me I need to do hot yoga. Not even hot yoga but hot Pilates - with weights - it’s more intense. And it’s hot. The room is like 39 degrees and to me that sounds like hell before we even pick up a weight or add a resistance band. So to humour her, I gave it a go.  The first thing I did was ask if we could turn the heat down - it was unbearable - how people do this on a regular basis is beyond me. But it’s by far the hardest workout I’ve ever done. It’s harder than the half marathon I ran years ago with my boys as I tried to prove that Mum could keep up with them. Spoiler alert - she could not. In fact all I did was sprain an ankle at the top of the Harbour Bridge but kept going on it because the indignity of hobbling and quitting precluded me from making a sensible decision which was to stop.  Fast forward a few years of not doing very much and I am now a convert to the punish of exercise. I still don’t understand the people who enjoy it, I hate every second , but afterwards, I feel amazing. Sweaty and exhausted, but amazing. This week I even planked for a whole minute. The world record is 11 hours so I’ve got a way to go but trust me, in a hot room with a tired body that’s been up since 3am, I was proud of my one minute.  When you're super tired it's hard to embrace exercise that goes beyond just walking the dog - but I'm starting to see the merit in working your body hard. I’m telling you this partially by way of apology to all the people I said were insane for doing this kind of thing, partially to hold myself accountable to keeping it up, and partially because I’m hoping the fitness bunnies tuning in can tell me what works for them too. Because I didn’t even know hot Pilates with weights existed before I tried it. So there must be other cool stuff out there that's not an F45 class. I don’t want to jump around a room with machines and people, but I am learning the merit of weights as we get older - especially for women.  So as a convert to being put through my paces in a hot room, I’m here to say exercise can be embraced at any age or stage. And even if you feel like you’re going to collapse, you will actually feel different and more energised at the end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.