Thursday 26 January

As is the case with most Londoners, I live a busy life. Juggling work and home life can be a struggle at times, particularly when it comes to exercising. So when my personal trainer, Jezz Wilcox, from The Third Space fitness club in Soho, revealed that just 25 minutes in the gym is enough for a great calorie-burning session, I jumped for joy. (Ok, not literally… but you get the picture.)

The point is: Jezz banished my belief that you need to spend an hour in the gym slogging it away to get fitter, healthier and stronger. And how did he convince me? Well, after I woke up this morning in all sorts of aches and pains after yesterday’s speed development and modified strongman training session, let’s just say it’s all about quality not quantity.

Here’s an account of the past 24 hours: 

6.15am

Alarm sounds and I’m well and truly asleep! Takes a while to register that I have my third training session with Jezz from The Third Space at 7am, so I rush along to make it to Soho in time.

7am

Meet Jezz at The Third Space and he reveals today we’ll be focusing on keeping it short and intense. First up we start with modified strongman training, beginning with a circuit-based routine, including chin-ups, forward and backward “drags”, push presses and dead lifts. We run through the circuit four times (timing each one and with a two-minute recovery in between). I then have to beat each time. Although Jezz has to almost lift me up to complete my chin-ups (note: hardest exercise ever!), I manage to get my timing down to 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

7.30am

Next up, we work on speed development through a series of interval sprints. The idea is to sprint for 15 seconds, and recover for 15 seconds for a total 40 sprints, over about 20 minutes.

8am

Jezz and I spend 10 minutes stretching and chatting about the two types of workouts we’ve just done. “The idea with either workout is that they’re both completed in about 25 minutes, including warm-up times,” Jezz explains. “It’s ideal for people with busy lives who want to get in and out.”

9am

After a shower I nip out for a quick coffee and breakkie at Flat White – avocado and homemade hummus on wholegrain toast.

10.30am

Arrive at Kensington Place restaurant in Notting Hill to take some images of the restaurant’s Valentine’s Day hamper package and head chef Daniel Loftin’s barbary duck dish.

12pm

Walk 20 minutes down the road to Launceston Place restaurant to catch up with sommelier Agustin Trapero. I take some more photos of the Italian red wines Agustin will be showcasing at his upcoming wine-tasting event.

1pm

Back to the office and grab a vegetarian salad box from Sunny’s Olive Tree Market Stall on Leather Lane in Farringdon.

2-5.30pm

Lots to do back at the office: meetings, two feature to write, resize images, more meetings, and sift through emails.

6pm

Arrive at Avenue to meet head chef Kimmo Makkonen. Kimmo has kindly whipped me up one of the healthiest meals on his menu for an early dinner: sea trout with daikon, crunchy cucumber balls and horseradish.

Kimmo explains that besides a splash of milk, the dish boasts raw food elements and retains all its freshness, making it his favourite healthy option to serve up for health-conscious diners. It’s absolutely delicious!

8pm

Head home to catch up on some reading and enjoy an early night. I can already feel the onset of tight muscles following this morning’s work out…

Pounds lost: 4lbs