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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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