I AM just going to come right out and say it. I absolutely hate exercising.

Like, really loathe it.

Funny how some folk genuinely love exerting themselves on a regular basis.

They get a real buzz from being hot and sweaty and pushing their bodies to their absolute limit, while the rest of us would rather stay home and rearrange our sock drawers.

I truly admire fitness fanatics and often wonder what keeps them so motivated.

Good on you if you are up at the crack of dawn to run ten kilometres before breakfast. I only wish I had half your energy and enthusiasm, I really do.

Some of us must simply be been born without the gym gene.

The problem with exercising is we do really need to do some to stay healthy and extend our time on this planet.

I get that and I do try.

Well, when I say try, I mean I think about the fact I should be exercising quite often.

There is not actually a lot of activity happening but I am definitely aware I should be doing it more.

It is not even that I am a complete sloth.

I am a busy person, constantly running from one thing to the next.

Just not dressed in Lycra with my sweatbands on.

Do people even wear sweatbands these days?

Anyway, when I do have time to myself, hitting the gym or going for a jog seem to be at the bottom of my list.

As a veggie, my diet is fairly healthy but I know that is not enough.

I have had a go at all sorts of exercise, convinced each time I had found my thing, my new obsession.

My resolve is always strong initially, but soon wanes and eventually completely disappears.

From aqua-aerobics to step, from spin to Zumba I have tried them all.

I have even stuck at some of them for several months in the past, but others were just too evil or too complicated for my tiny brain.

Zumba is a classic example of this.

A few years ago, it was the class everyone was obsessed with.

People constantly banged on about Zumba for hours and what a fun way it was to stay in shape.

In spite of myself, I did want to know what the fuss was about, so signed up for a class at my local gym.

Thankfully the room was full of complete strangers because I spent 60 minutes looking like an ostrich caught up in a skipping rope.

I had not realised until that day just how unco-ordinated I really am.

In the words of Mr Revel Horwood, it was a disaster darling and I raced from the room, never to return.

Spin class was similarly horrific.

I seem to remember it being held in what was essentially a tin shed in the middle of summer.

Aside from the soaring temperatures inside said shed, the real problem was the sadistic instructor.

He looked amazing, all toned and taut, and I could just tell from the way he greeted us all he was planning to destroy us.

He duly did just that and I hobbled back to my car afterwards, trying to breathe through the waves of nausea.

Pre-motherhood, I even had a personal trainer once and definitely enjoyed the one-to-one attention.

He did used to make me run up Snakey Hill in Hove mind you, which was always mortifying.

It was usually rush hour so hundreds of motorists had the joy of watching me, purple-faced, pretty much crawling up the pavement.

In the end it came down to paying for my PT sessions, or paying my electricity bill, so that was the end of that.

Looking back on it I guess I have made some genuine attempts at getting fit but I just cannot sustain it.

I did manage to go out on a bike ride earlier today.

A friend wanted to try out her new wheels so we got ourselves geared up and managed a whole three miles along the seafront.

Granted, our motivation was Carats cafe in Southwick, where we stopped for a fry up, but we felt like we had earned it.

You will be pleased to hear I plumped for toast instead of fried bread, so all is not lost.

If I am completely honest, there is one type of exercise I have fallen a little bit in love with and that is yoga.

Some of the poses are even quite strenuous, but four years in, I have managed to stick it out.

It is the one class I have found that does not involve too much sweating and you get to lie down at the end.

That is a big win in my book.