13 March 2009 (Profile)

Words: Mike Sheridan

I've never eaten healthily in my life. Truth be told, I actually started training as a way to assuage the guilt of enjoying vast amounts of curry and other assorted goodies without having to worry about it going to my trunk and other noticeable areas. 'Five a day' is, somewhat stupidly, not something that I could realistically consume, even on one of my good days. Instead, I simply try to watch what I'm eating as best I can - despite slipping up on innumerable occasions and having my local takeaway on speed dial (being on a first name basis with your delivery man is never a good sign). I also supplement what I can for with vitamins and supplements like Maximuscle Viper and Recovermax.

Energy is one of the biggest factors in any form of exercise (that you're not compelled by profession or law to take part in). Tackling this is tricky, if you don't drool at the thoughts of the organic section of Superquinn; so speaking from my own experience, breakfast is a sure way to give you a kick throughout the day. Weetabix with SuperMilk is my kick-starter of choice, and it also leaves you feeling full throughout the morning/early afternoon. That said, I have been known to hastily consume a vast array of chocolate throughout the day, which is hardly smart; but I try to balance that with a healthy-ish meal at lunch and dinner. Granted, I do also, on occasion, hit one of Dublin City's many Chinese fast-food restaurants for a sneaky curry (chicken curry, boiled rice, no onions - just in case you're ever buying), but I try and keep my visits to a minimal. For lunch, I mostly go for wraps, with chicken breast and slight spreading of mayonnaise.

I've recently joined the lovely One Escape gym in Smithfield (having binned the claustrophobic alternative, also located in the city centre) which is easily the best equipped gym I’ve been in. The regime I've been undertaking over the last couple of weeks is: four days incline treadmill training, starting at a 3% incline at 11kph, and gradually moving up 0.5kph every five minutes for 45 minutes, increasing the incline to between 4% or 8%, while ensuring that my speed stays consistent. After 45 minutes, I walk at a speed of 8kph for 2 minutes, then push the incline upwards to about 8% and jog at between 11kph and 14kph for the last 13 or so minutes. I'm currently weighing in at about 77 kilos (about 12.2 stone), but that fluctuates widely, depending on my training for the week. I also do a long road-run (between 22k and 30k) on Saturdays. On top of this, I cycle 15k into work, and 15k home, on my lovely Carrera Vanquish racing bike, five days a week.

 I got the bike as a pragmatic way of increasing my fitness level, and also to push myself towards doing a triathlon. Despite doing a lot of research online, though, I still went in fairly blind when purchasing it, and had to take the shop assistant's advice at face value. Granted, I could've shopped around some more, but I wanted the damn bike pronto! I mentioned that it would be predominantly used for the commute to work (from Kinsealy to the city centre), but that I really wanted to do a triathlon, and would like a bike that could handle both. Now, where I live the roads are particularly crap, but Lord - who could have envisioned this? From purchasing the bike at the end of December, I have averaged one puncture a week. A pedal also fell off on the Malahide Road recently. Now, this isn't down to the quality of the bike; the roads are just terrible, and there is a lot of maintenance that needs to be done to keep the bike working at a prime level. So if you do decide to buy one and have similar circumstances to myself, make sure you research it properly - look for something suited to your conditions.

Next week, I will be officially embarking on my first swimming lesson. With all the other cardio I'm doing on a daily basis, the folk at One Escape have also recommended a weights programme for me. I'll publish my official training plan on the site when it has been readied - as well as others, for those of you that are just looking to start a fitness plan, even from scratch. You don't need to be a health freak to start training; but if you don't start on the run-up to the summer racing series now, then when are you going to start?

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