No more excuses

I'm not an exercise novice. I've signed up to the gym any number of times. I've also fallen off the gym wagon any number of times, too. There's something about the relentless monotony of treadmills, exercise bikes, ski-track machines and rowers that fails to enthuse me. It works for some people – many find that time spent on a cardio machine is the best/only time they get to think in a freeform kind of way. I just spend half an hour counting down the number of seconds I need to keep going before I can pack up and go home for the day.

So although I start off an exercise regime with enthusiasm, my keeness wears off quickly, and I begin looking for excuses not to go to the gym. And, if you're a busy freelancer, with a packed schedule of deadlines, tastings and trips, it's all too easy to find those excuses.

At the end of May last year, Mark and I bought the puppy we'd been wanting to get for a couple of years. Laszlo is a black miniature schnauzer, and with him there are no excuses. Like any puppy, he's full of energy (see his showjumping session in the park last summer, above) so he needs to get a good walk every day. He's usually so keen to get out the front door that he grabs the lead in his teeth and tugs it (and me at the other end of the lead) all the way down the garden path and out to the park. Lasz and I spend a good 20 minutes walking most days (when I say walking, I mean that he runs a lot and I have to run after him – he's not very good at coming back when there are other dogs to chase and play with), and at weekends Mark and I usually take him further afield for a couple of long walks. (He – Laszlo, that is – came home with half of Sydenham woods on him last weekend after a particularly vigorous session with a Labradoodle.)

So far, so good. At least I'm getting a basic amount of brisk exercise every day. But I still run out of puff if I have to sprint for the bus, and I know a good fitness regime will not only help shift the kilos, it will also help me tone up and get in shape. That's why, from next week on, uber-trainer James, from Phoenix Exercise Professionals, will (I hope) be pushing me much harder than I would ever push myself in my quest to get get fit. With any luck the challenges he sets me should motivate me enough to keep me coming back for more.