How do you get fit when you work in a library? Bookworm bicep curls with a bag of books, of course! Now that school is out for the summer, it’s time for this bibliophile to get in shape, and not make any more pen-pushing excuses…

Lol. My video might be a tad glib, but I’m actually serious about the fitness part. This summer, I’m focusing on strength building. For the past few weeks, I’ve been sticking to a new exercise routine of boxing and weight training for 5 out of 7 days. We already have a punch bag and other boxing equipment at home, as well as 100kg of dumbbell weight plates. Today I just ordered a weight-training bench, which should be delivered this week. Pretty serious, huh?

When I was in my twenties, I did yoga, weights, Thai boxing and JKD (Bruce Lee’s martial art) and I cycled everywhere. Fast forward to middle-age and until recently, walking was about all the exercise I was getting. Well, there’s no time like the present to get into a new fitness routine, eh? Plus, unlike the punch bag, which is outside and therefore only in use at the whims of the Northern Irish weather, the weight-training equipment is all indoors.

In other words, no excuses, ha ha.

Posted by on June 30, 2026 in Health and tagged , , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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