I KNEW that I was getting ahead of myself when I said that it wasn’t that bad last week – because trust me the second and third sessions were a lot worse.

I cannot tell you why I agreed to an hour of personal training twice a week – it probably goes back to that whole idea of wanting to walk and talk without getting out of breath.

However right now I would take wheezy attempts to walk uphill whilst maintaining conversation with my much fitter colleagues over not being able to lift my arms above my head coupled with the desire to sleep on the bottom floor of my house because two flights of stairs is really just too much.

Anyone who is going back to regular exercise or starting from the beginning convinces themselves that the second time will be easier – this is not true – it is much, much harder!

But as my over used stomach muscles cause me to wince in pain I am reminded of the fact that these sessions are probably working and my dream of Victoria’s Secret abs is getting closer.

And I am also holding on to the hope that at some point during these six weeks I will find it maybe not easier but easier to recover from and maybe just maybe I might start enjoying it.

To be honest as I meet some of the other gym users - a regular crowd of which I see no more than five or six using the facilities at the same time - I’m kind of beginning to see why people like to go to the gym with someone.

There is always someone to cheer you on as they see you struggling and someone who claps you when you achieve something.

And I know I have Dion there to do that but it's not just him it's the atmosphere that he creates in his gym of total comradery.

As much as I loathe the idea of someone watching me do exercise and witnessing my face turn tomato red while I puff and wheeze even when I am just climbing up and down a cargo rope - something which is a lot harder to do if you have a severe fear of falling off and on to your face.

I am actually genuinely impressed when I watch other people achieve something in the gym that I have convinced myself I could never do - such as a 45 minute rope challenge or hula hooping for half an hour.

And I even find myself clapping and cheering them on knowing that at some point when my fitness levels surpass that of an 80-year-old woman my new gym comrades will be there to cheer me on.