Going Ape With Simply Health

I think we all want to be fit and healthy but sometimes the thought of exercising can be a daunting one. So what if there was a way of getting a good workout in without you actually knowing that you were doing any sort of exercise at all?

Simply Health set some bloggers including myself the task of taking part in some recreational activities to see just how much fun we could have whilst burning calories.

Out of the options I was given I chose for my husband and I to go to our closest Go Ape. Now this in itself was quite an achievement for me in the end because I'm severely afraid of heights but it was something my other half has always wanted to do and I suppose I wanted to embrace my fears (mad right?)

What's even crazier is that because we were magically child free from the previous night, we'd been out drinking and our session was at 9am, but after a good cup of coffee and a Mcdonald's breakfast (hangover cure right there) we were good to go, well as good as my nerves would let me be.

After the initial introductions and instructions we were left to follow the trails by ourselves, I think the first ladder was the hardest because I really wasn't sure if I my fears would allow me to continue climbing up but I'm pleased to say I made it, helped by the fact that we had a lovely couple with us who were encouraging and sympathetic.

Now some of you might be thinking that this is an easy thing to do and it may well be for some but even if you aren't afraid of being up high in the trees, all the climbing and holding on definitely becomes a workout in itself, it certainly tested the minimal upper body strength that I have.

By the time we'd reached the end I was both knackered and energised at the same time (is that even possible?), think it might have something to do with all of the adrenaline coursing round my body but I've never been so happy not to quit a task because once I'd got over the initial nerves oh and the tarzan net near the end eeekk, it really was fun, think it would be even better with a group of friends!

You can see from the picture below how many steps I began with and how many calories I'd initially burnt and then the difference at the end. In a couple of hours I'd managed to burn 517 calories and walk a further 6676 steps. Now that's a fair bit of fat burning going on there and at the time I wasn't thinking about that, I was too busy laughing as I raced down zip wires.

I must say the morning after the tops of my arms were hurting quite a bit, a testament to my lack of upper body strength but I think that made morning out all the better as I'd managed to do three things at once, conquer fears, have a fun time out and burn calories as well. Not bad work for 3 hours hey.

Of course there are other things you could look to be doing in your local area, what about laser tag? That's next on my list and we've already decided to go back to Go Ape in the Summer, my eldest kids are eager to get on the junior course!

Disclaimer : Our Go Ape tickets were paid for and I was sent the Fitbit FOC for the purposes of this post but all thoughts and opinions are my own.