Image from hike-australia.com | Link
Does hiking up a 1.8k hill and a load of steps on a 33 degree day
sound like your idea of a perfect Sunday? ME NEITHER! I’m not the best at
exercising, and up until recently, I was pretty lucky with my body and weight
given that I could trough a load of McDonalds, Ben and Jerry’s and other
general rubbish and never have it affect me. Recently though, my weight and
body has changed a lot (which of course it will as I get older) but I also feel
like I could eat and exercise a whole lot more. I struggle a lot to get
motivated to exercise, so I have been looking out for a way I can get active
without it feeling so gruelling. Enter The Thousand Steps in the Dandenong
Ranges. It’s a beautiful, scenic route up the side of the mountain. It goes up
through the trees for 1.8k and when you get to the top, there’s a cute picnic
ground where you can collapse and eat sandwiches. When I said earlier I wanted
something that wasn’t gruelling, I didn’t get that; I found this walk
extraordinarily gruelling!
My boyfriend, who plays football like 5 nights a week, came with
me, and unfortunately for him, I was waaay below his standards and he spent the
entire walk a few steps ahead, gently pootling along. I was dragging myself up
soooo slowly, but I actually enjoyed the walk. Despite the warm weather, I wasn’t
too boiling because of all the shade. There’s a few spots to sit down on the
way and loads of beautiful scenery. We also saw a wallaby on the way up! Very
cute and very Aussie, haha! I love the place it’s set in too; a huge war
memorial, a café that serves up some pretty healthy looking baguettes and
smoothies, plenty of water fountains and loads of fitness junkies to help
motivate you.
Walking is wonderfully beneficial for you, and uphill climbs and
hikes are great for your quadriceps, gluteus, hamstrings and calves. Perfect
for those of you who are toning your buns and thighs! Walking also burns a
whole load of calories and is wonderful in terms of minimising wear and tear on
the body that comes with running. Many people (including me!!) actually enjoys
a brisk stroll over a vigorous run. I hate that stress that running puts on my
lungs and how it really brings up my body temperature, which can be dangerous
in the summer! Walking is definitely much more manageable, especially in the
early stages of a workout/fitness plan for beginners like me. Of course,
walking still really gets the blood pumping and the calories burning, it’s just
a lot kinder on the body, and it also allowed the boyfriend and I to talk as we
walked, which is lovely!
After the walk, I’m absolutely knackered! But I came home and made
a delicious juice which I really wanted to share the recipe for. The colour was
offputting to my juice-virgin boyfriend, but it’s a deliciously sweet and
refreshing combination of carrots and sweet fruits.
This recipe made around 650mls of lush orangey goodness.
‘Revitalise’
Juice:
3 large
carrots
3
oranges (peel removed)
3 pink
lady apples
2 pears
Yuuuum! And really refreshing. It was perfect as my
post run juice. I’m going to get way more into my juicing, especially now I’m
at uni because they serve as amazingly healthy snacks and keep you feeling
pretty full up. Overall, this has been a pretty random and rambly post! But I
had a productive, active day and I feel way exhausted but very happy with my
day!
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