No doubt you will have heard about interval training. There’s also quite a strong possibility that you haven’t yet tried it out. Horrible nightmare images of you sprinting every 30 second, gasping for breath? Visions of yourself pedalling on level 20 of your bike, legs burning and feeling like they’re probably going to drop off? Most people I speak to about interval training are put off because they think it involves sprinting like a madman, and they just don’t think they’re capable of holding out at that level of intensity, even for 30 seconds.

Some days, I just don’t feel like training. Sometimes this because I’ve been working a lot, not sleeping enough, not eating properly, or overloaded with other things to do. Usually, I just train anyway: partly because I’ve got goals to hit, and partly because life (and being a grownup) is about doing things you don’t necessarily want to do in pursuit of a greater good, and the gym is a good way to practice that. But sometimes – maybe once a month, I really can’t face doing the workout I’ve got planned.