The time has come – I have a new regime.
Having mastered my initial programme after four weeks, personal trainer, Nick Jones, has decided to up the ante.
The focus has shifted a little in favour of the resistance exercises.
I’m now warming up on the rowing machine – 2km as quick as possible – then its onto the exercises.
First up is the dreaded plank, as before, but now on one of the exercise balls.
It’s actually not quite as hard as just doing it on the floor, but I am supposed to be holding it for longer and staying balanced on the ball isn’t so easy either.
After that it’s on to the weights. We start with bench chest flies (I think that’s what they’re called), with 6kg in each hand, 12 reps, followed immediately by press-ups on the floor.
Repeat three times.
Then it’s bench shoulder presses, 5kg in each hand, 12 reps, quickly followed by a side raise with 2kg on each side, 15 reps.
Repeat three times.
Next it’s the lunges. These burn after a while. I have to take 6kg in each hand and lunge forward, hold it for five seconds and rest. Five times each leg, three times over.
Then we’re onto one of the weight machines. Three lots of 12 reps on the 20kg setting, remembering to sit up straight.
Finally, a weighted crunch, back on the ball. This is basically little stomach crunches while holding a 5kg weight on my chest. Maybe this will help see off the dreaded beer belly.
After all that muscle-working exercise, we polish off with five or 10 minutes of the cardiovascular exercise of my choice – I reckon treadmill, it seems like harder work than the crosstrainer, after all.