fit and healthy

Both Daniel and I try to keep fit and healthy.  I try and cook all our meals from scratch with fresh ingredients and avoid ready made meals.  We do have the occasional slip up, but doesn't everybody.

When I was at school I hated PE and dreaded the summer athletics stuff.  I would cycle a bit and go on walks with my family and that is the kind of stuff I still enjoy doing now.  The thought of spending an hour or so on a machine in the gym with a bunch of strangers really doesn't appeal to me.  I would much rather get outside and go somewhere.

We are fortunate that where we live is surrounded by some lovely outside spaces.  We don't have to go to far from our door and there are fields, woodlands, rivers and canals that provide great opportunities to get out and get some exercise.  Dan used to go to the gym regularly but in order to save a bit of money we have been trying to do things that are free and take advantage of the outdoors, like running, walking and cycling.

I used to cycle a lot when I was younger but got out of the habit as I got older and went to college and university.  When Dan and I started going out the first thing he ever bought me was a bike.  He has always been a keen cyclist, riding BMX and mountain bikes for as long as he can remember and he wanted us to do this together.

We have been getting out on the bikes a least once a week.  Cycling on the roads terrifies me so at the moment we are just going along the canal.  We try and go either early morning or late evening when there are fewer people about.  It's good practice for me as I haven't ridden for a while, I'm just getting used to using the gears properly and building up some strength.  Hopefully we'll be doing some longer rides soon and start throwing a few hills in there too.

My aim is to be able to go to Dolby Forest and ride some of the tracks they have there.

What do you do to stay fit?  Do you like getting outside too or do you prefer to go to the gym?