Going to gym for the first time alone can be a bit daunting and too much, I mean even I still feel a bit confused and all over the place and i’ve been going for a year or two but I like to remind myself that everyone is there to do the same thing; let off some steam, make some gains, get “swole” if you will. No one is judging you so don’t judge yourself! But for those days that you really don’t feel like facing the gym or being around people, here are some exercises that you can do to stay on top of your game!

A Lot of the time people think that the only way to stay fit and be active is to have a gym membership, which is not the case at all. Having a gym membership doesn’t automatically equal an active lifestyle. You determine that for yourself, not a building.

There are many ways that you can get the results you desire WITHOUT having a gym membership and sometimes (almost every time) it’s more enjoyable as well!

Doing this ‘Eight week journey to a better you’ has forced me to explore my surroundings and find other ways to keep my fitness up and exciting. At first I thought it was going to be a tedious task not doing my usual routine. But honestly, i’m kind of loving the addition/change and so is my body.

I’ve loved it because it has helped me balance my life a little more. I get to catch up with my girlfriends or go on a romantic walk with my boyfriend whilst still being active – it’s kind of a win, win situation!

Throughout this post i’ll be sharing favourite ways on how to have fun being active outside of the gym.

#1: HIKING

Hiking is an amazing way to get some fresh air, explore your city and go where you have never been. It improves your cardio-respiratory fitness, improves your mood and best of all, you get to spend quality time with those whom you love the most and create special memories.

I personally love it because within the first 5-10 minutes of hiking, my heart rate is already up, my thighs hurt and i’m already laughing unnecessarily with my friends and family. (Mostly laughing at my family for laughing at how unfit I am, but still laughing nonetheless!)

I would say hiking is my number 1 on my therapy session list! There’s just something about being outdoors and between the mountains or in the forests that immediately brightens the spirits.

#2: SWIMMING

I never saw myself swimming.. FOR FUN. Quite frankly i’m not a swimmer. I go as far as doggy paddle and that’s where it ends.

But honestly, I was quite amazed when I actually tried to make a conscious effort to swim properly. I was EXHAUSTED afterwards! My whole body was sore for a good few days after that.

Swimming is a great out door exercise because if you don’t have a lap pool near you, you can go to the swimming pool in your back garden or if that’s a no-go, there are lakes, rivers and of course the ocean! Just please, make sure wherever you swim it’s safe and always go with a friend!

It’s loads of fun and is a good way to alleviate some stress!

#3: STEPS

Now this is a goodie! I promise you, you could be able to run for miles on end and feel golden afterwards, as well as do hours of cardio in the gym but come and do steps, you will still suffer after the first or second set of stairs! They are KILLER.

I know I do, at least.

I absolutely love the stairs. Immediately increases your heart rate, burns fat like theres no tomorrow, tones the quads and the peach and it’s high impact (obviously).

Running up and walking down repeatedly can get a bit boring, I know. So the best thing to do is switch it up every second set or so. You can do jump squats and donkey kicks, walking lunges and so on.

#4: WALKING

This may seem like a bit of a boring one but honestly, if all I had around me was a beach, I wouldn’t mind walking for an hour everyday with my feet in the sand.

There’s something so pure and refreshing about walking on the side of the ocean line, letting the water touch your feet.

It shows you how big the world is and how small you and your problems are. Often, we as humans have a nasty habit of making our issues seem bigger than what they are at first. I find that walking along the beach or the promenade helps me with not only showing how small my issues are but it’s also a good place to find inspiration or even a good place for reflection.

It’s a fantastic way to set yourself up for the day. Let everything run through your mind slowly and freely. Nothing seems too overwhelming or complicated.

#5: JUNGLE GYMS

I know this sounds a bit odd but trust me on this one, you can create a killer circuit using a kiddies jungle gym. Anything from “box jumps” onto a bench, monkey bars or even tricep dips on a good old piece of wood (just mind out for the splinters) – it’s fun, it’s a different way to workout and it’s outside!

Photography / Ashley Tapsell

It’s a new week to create new goals and have a good time! I hope this motivates and encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and get out the house a little this week.

If you are interested in more ways to be active outside of gym, please be sure to leave a comment below to share with everyone or let me know on my latest Instagram post what you do to stay active outside of gym!

Lots of love, Jeanna x

Hey guys, It’s been a hot minute since i’ve last done a post.

My parents and I have been moving house for the past three weeks so things have been a bit chaotic leading up to the move and thereafter. I lived in the house we just moved out of for just over 19 years so needless to say packing up almost 20 years of memories and belongings takes up one’s time.

I must admit, it’s been a difficult time for me. That house has been home for all my life, every single birthday, occasion and christmas was in that home. It was a very special place for me and I think I will take a piece of that home with me wherever I go in life.

I knew I had to trust the magic in new beginnings and with that said I absolutely adore my new home – surrounded by parks and greenery, it has such a good vibe in it. I can’t wait to create new memories with old friends in this one! I mean, the day I walked into this house it felt like home so I haven’t had any issue settling in and trying to make it feel right because it already felt right! Onto better things they say!

Happiness doesn’t just have one address.

Not sure if it has been the weather, the moon or if I have just been overly dramatic but I’ve been having a difficult time within myself lately. Each day I take the time to reflect and assess myself, my surroundings, what i’m doing for me and what i’m doing for others and I struggled to find fault (I know, doesn’t make sense??) until I realised that I constantly compared my life to those I know and those I follow on social media and I immediately knew I had to change my way of viewing myself and how I think so last week, around Tuesday I was in such a rut with myself, mentally and physically I thought no, I need change and splurged on this incredible 8 week fitness program AND I HAVE NOT BEEN THIS MOTIVATED AND EXCITED TO TRAIN AND GET BACK ON TRACK IN SUCH A LONG TIME and I want you to join me!

Now this isn’t something that needs to be in the eye of the public unless you want it to be, it can be a personal challenge for yourself but I thought I should come here and tell you that if you are looking for a sign, this is it!

If I can motivate and inspire just one of you to join this 8 week journey to a better you than my job here is done!

So let’s get to the basics:

Aim: The aim of this, for me personally is to get motivated and stay motivated. By the end of these 8 weeks not only do I want to be more confident in myself, I want to feel refreshed and on track again. These 8 weeks are about getting fit, staying fit and being healthy. Doing things that you love and that make you feel good whether that be going for a walk on the beach or going to your local cafe every morning and having a mocha.

The best part about this is that there are no rules, you make them to suit you!

P.s My timing is so good that 8 weeks from now winter should supposedly be over and our summer bodies will be ripe and ready for those beaches. YEY!

Goals: I’ve come to realise that I often make unrealistic goals for myself thinking they’re realistic and then falling off the wagon because they weren’t realistic. I have always said create measurable goals for yourself, goals that work for YOU!

Cutting out chocolate from my diet permanently for 8 weeks isn’t realistic for me so on weekends I might have some, I will have less than usual but that works for me.

I do want to be happy with what I see in the mirror every time I walk past it and to be comfortable going to the beach so my goals for the next few weeks is to just be happy with me and get results while doing so!

Some extra advice: The most difficult thing in almost anything in life is starting but it is important to remember that once you start, you will love it so much that you won’t stop. Eating better and living a healthier lifestyle does become a lot easier when it is practised often. On Sundays I make sure I have all the healthy foods in my fridge and pantry that I need for the week ahead so I know I am sorted for meals and smoothies and don’t end up binge eating all the ginger biscuits that are left over because i’m too lazy to drive to the shops and get what I need (I’m way too guilty for this, tbh)

Planning is key; I am not the sort of person who can get up, go to gym and make a workout up on the spot so I enjoy typing my workouts into my notepad beforehand so I don’t get cold feet at the gym and end up having half a workout.

Don’t obsess over the numbers on the scale; I know it’s difficult and I understand that it’s always tempting to see if you’ve lost weight but the thing is, you can’t always believe what’s on the scale. When someone starts exercising more and eating better they will lose weight but gain muscle mass and what some people don’t understand is that, you can’t see the breakdown of your weight on the scale unless you have a scale that does that for you so it might discourage you instead of motivate you. What I would suggest is taking before and after pictures, one tomorrow, one four weeks from now and one eight weeks from now and let your clothes help you determine whether you’ve lost weight or not.

Always remember that slow progress is better than no progress! YOU GOT THIS!

Photography / Ashley Tapsell

So, in conclusion I am starting an eight week journey to a better me and I want you to join me!

It’s not about beating yourself up if you have a not-so-great meal or skip a workout, it’s about creating a better understanding of a healthy active lifestyle and I would love to help you achieve that.

In two weeks, you’ll feel it. In four weeks, you’ll see it. In eight weeks, you’ll hear it.

If you do decide to join me on this journey, please do comment below or dm me on Instagram, I would love to hear your goals and plan for the next few weeks!

Lots of love, Jeanna x

In light of labour day, a public holiday in South Africa that is held in honor of working people. I thought it would be appropriate for you to ask yourself, why are you working on a day that’s ‘celebrated’ for you? Well, that’s for most of you at least.

Let me just say, kudos to you.

It’s always difficult to establish when enough is enough. To learn how to move on. Move on from shitty jobs, old friends, lovers and bad situations.

I’ve always been the sort of person to leave something that doesn’t add value to my life or who I am as a person. It sounds harsh, but I have to do what’s best for me and you have to do what’s best for you. I could be part of an organisation that pays me thousands every month but if it doesn’t add any sort of worth to my mental and physical well being, then I don’t see the point. You’ll only be fooling yourself if you keep pretending that maybe somewhere along the line, some sort of usefulness will come out of it.

I want to be rich, don’t get me wrong. But not rich like that. I want to be rich in knowledge and experience, memories and life lessons. I believe that the rest will then follow. To me, that’s what is most important; the moments you collect that you can’t put a number to, because they are just too priceless.

I recently left a job that I loved, not because the people were shitty or because I didn’t enjoy it but because it wasn’t adding any sort of benefit to me and who I want to become. Where I want to go is in the complete opposite direction to where they wanted to take me so I thought it was only fair to give that position to someone who wanted to end up on that path. However, I definitely didn’t leave empty handed. I took the knowledge, experience and lessons learned with me and most importantly I still have the lifelong friendships that were created along the way.

All too often I see and speak to people who feel stuck. Stuck in their job, in their current life, their relationships. I did and I do. We become so comfortable  in the little lives we have created for ourselves that we often forget that this is our only life to do everything we have ever wanted to do. It’s too precious to sit at a 08:00 – 17:00 day job every single day and wish that you were out there doing something else instead of the same thing every single day just so you can accumulate enough days in your year to take leave for not even a fraction of what you worked.

If you feel trapped or are too afraid to do the unimaginable, just do it. Leave the job, the city, the relationship – if it’s adding nothing but frustration to you. No one could tell you why you shouldn’t leave and don’t let them!

“We grow fearless when we do the things we fear” – Robin Sharma

Sometimes you have to do things without the advice of other people so that you don’t get influenced by their decision on what YOU should do with YOUR life.

Remember, if you always go by what other people THINK you should do with your life – it will only affect you, not them, not both of you. Just you. They don’t have to live with the decisions they made for you, you do.

If you’re reading this and you feel a little bit guilty for being too comfortable with your life or where you currently are, that’s okay. We have all been there at one point or another and who’s to say that we won’t be there again in a few years. The great thing is, that you can always change it.

“Growth is the antidote of regret” – Robin Sharma

I urge you to go and live the life you want and not the life you need. I promise you will be a lot happier.

It’s time to get uncomfortable being comfortable.