It was early in 2010 when, for the first time in my life, I started taking my health and my fitness seriously.

These days, along with my three resistance sessions a week, I spend at least 20 minutes per day doing some form of cardiovascular exercise. Some days this will be the 12km round trip to and from work on the bike; in summer it will be a swim down the beach and back (1km approx); the rest of the time I will spend it running, usually on the beach.

I first ran on the beach at the end of Southern Hemisphere summer 2010 and I absolutely adored the experience. It’s true, here in New Zealand we are spoilt for nice beaches, so putting yourself in a truly stunning location while you do your cardio work sure helps the experience.

It was at a house party a year ago that I really started to learn of the benefits of jogging on the beach. A guy I met there had once been quite the runner. Sadly, however, his knees had given in on him and he had been forced to stop. He spoke of the doctor telling him that he should never have run so much on concrete and that softer surfaces are the way forward.

I took myself out for another jog on the beach the very next day and I loved it even more than the previous times I had been.

Here are five reasons why I love jogging on the beach barefoot and why it is good for you:

1. Intensity. The loose and uneven surface of sand on the beach means you get a higher intensity workout than you would from a normal jog of the same distance or time. Essentially, it requires more calories to jog on the beach.

Sure, there is an increased chance of injury from barefoot jogging on a beach, which is why I would always recommend you start slowly and on the wet, harder sand. When you have got a feel for the beach, you can raise the stakes by moving in to the softer sands. Do this for a small part of your run to begin with then work in more as your get more experienced.

_{Te Henga beach, Auckland, is a great place to jog}

We’re quite lucky in New Zealand as a lot a of our beaches are kept very clean and rubbish-free. However, I would never recommend running barefoot on a beach where there is likely to be a lot of rubbish – the potential for injury really is not worth it!

2. Good for both your feet and your joints. This was the closer for me. I already loved running on the beach, but when I started reading up on benefits of running barefoot I was totally sold. Essentially not wearing trainers and running on a soft surface combine for a very healthy experience indeed.

3. Cost. Yet another benefit of jogging barefoot on the beach – this time a fiscal one: Not having to eat through dollars for running shoes is another fine selling point for me.

4. Less foot odour. Stinky feet are caused by tiny little bacteria that live on the feet. Firstly by running barefoot, you are giving these bacteria less of a chance to hide away and multiply inside your socks and trainers. What’s more, the constant abrasive action of your feet against the pumice-like sandy beach helps remove the dead skin that helps trap bacteria. It’s like a double win!

5. Fun. Jogging on the beach barefoot is fun. The beach I frequent is actually two beaches split at a point by huge sand dunes – I just love building both beaches into my run and the feeling of success having scaled the dunes twice!

Also, on hot days, your can end your run with a straight dash into the ocean to cool off. Or why not build up to your ocean swim with a barefoot jog along the beach beforehand?

Give jogging on the beach barefoot a go and you will not be disappointed!

I am coming up to the 18 month anniversary since I started taking my health and fitness seriously. That’s right, far from being a bloater throughout my twenties, I did, however, manage to totally not eat right. And barely exercise.

Fruit strudel with ice cream… for breakfast; I’d arrive at my 9am lecture clutching a bucket of coke; chips, beans and cheese for lunch; culminating in a fatty burgery mess from the student bar for dinner.

OK, so that was my student diet. It improved in my late twenties. Slightly.

Miraculously, I managed to remain thin-looking throughout this ordeal, although I have since confessed that I was carrying it in a place where nobody could see it: My waist. Yes, due to many genetic factors, my body chooses to store its fat in one place and one place only – my gut.

If I’d carried on like that, I’d have had one heck of a bowling ball down my t-shirt top come my late thirties. I’d probably be heading for all sorts of nasties such as diabetes as well. I needed to improve my diet and I needed an exercise and workout plan.

I stumbled across Scooby’s Home Bodybuilding Workouts and seriously have never looked back.

Packed into Scooby’s site are loads and loads of workout plans, from beginner to expert, complete with demonstration videos of each suggested exercise. What’s more, and the clue is in the title here, the exercise and workout plans are designed for you to do at home, using minimal and cost-effective equipment. It’s like a double-win and really is a resource to behold!

The site is nicely laid out, with heaps of content – from exercise tips to low-fat recipes on the cheap. Sure, he makes affiliate commissions on some click-through sales, but he’s pretty honest about that at every step of the way, which counts as a plus I feel.

My exercise and workout plan, devised from the site, currently consists of:

- 20 minutes of cardio per day. In winter either bike to work or run the beach after work. In summer and parts of spring and autumn, swimming in the sea joins the options. Beach running is my favourite type of running – I go barefoot at every opportunity. More on that at a later date, though!

- Three sessions of resistance training per week. Up until recently, I had been focusing on different muscle sets per session, but now I am moving on to three full body workouts a week. Essentially the Intermediate plan from Scooby’s website, but with a couple of minor changes. For instance, I prefer the best scientifically proven abs exercise from Greg Brookes over crunches.

If you’re looking for some decent exercise and workout advice for free, then you have found it. This is truly the place to go.

Kei te ako ahau ki te kōrero Māori. I am learning to speak Te Reo Māori at AUT in Auckland. I’ll write a proper post about the course at a later date, since it truly deserves it.

Here are the lyrics for one of the songs that has been included in the Te Reo course, both in our weekly lessons and at wānanga – extra-learning weekends that occur twice a semester. When sung well, “Aue te aroha” is very ātaahua, or beautiful!

Aue te aroha
Aue te aroha

Ka rere atu nei taku reo powhiri
Nau mai, haere mai
Ko te whānau tēnei e mihi atu nei
Ki a koutou e
(Piki Mai!)
Piki mai, kaka mai
Hōmai tō waiora
Ki a mātou e
Tīhei Mauri
Mauri ora
E ngā iwi e

Aue te aroha (aue te aroha)
Aue te aroha (aue te aroha)
Aue te aroha (aue te aroha)
Aue te aroha