Personal services

Two words: Matt Holland. Matt is an ex-marine and marathon runner who trains other runners for marathons and has competed in triathlons for Britain. He was 10 stone at the time - one stone lighter than he is now and two stone lighter than my current weight. He is doing wonders for my body; what he's doing would be even more wonderful if I cut down the calories and did more exercise. I have a pact with Matt that I try to do as much cardio work as possible during the week so that in our sessions we can concentrate on strength and core stability. We've also started doing work on the rowing machine - my favourite piece of gym equipment. Anyway, all this is a roundabout way of saying that I would highly recommend finding someone like Matt to give you the kick up the ass you need - or at least I needed - to exercise more. Not only are you paying a lot of money, which I find concentrates the mind, but you have something to aim for every week.