I don’t know where my medals are,” confesses Juliet Murphy with a rueful smile.

Not that Murphy – winner of eight All-Ireland football titles with Cork, including three as captain – is careless or cavalier about her incredible achievements: this dairy farmer’s daughter from Donoughmore just doesn’t do fuss.

Indeed, she’s behind the desk when Irish Country Living visits her gym in Ballincollig. While a primary school teacher by profession, her spare time is still consumed by sport. Even since retiring from inter-county level, she’s still busy in the gym, coaching local teams or lending her expertise to initiatives like the “Feel Good, Do Good” challenges, which have raised €125,000 for charity in the last four years.

But if you’re exhausted just reading that, take heart. Juliet has teamed up with Irish Country Living for a four-week, easy-to-follow fitness series guaranteed to put a spring in your step – and hopefully help shift a few extra pounds in the process.

“My general philosophy is very simple: move it to lose it,” she smiles as she sips a coffee, which she admits is her guilty pleasure.

“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t feel good after exercise. Your body releases endorphins – and they’re the same endorphins you get after eating chocolate.”

Of course, many of us would rather reach for a Dairy Milk than our runners, and Juliet acknowledges that boredom, lack of motivation and even intimidation can be stumbling blocks on the road to fitness.

That’s why the programme she has designed for Irish Country Living includes Tabata-inspired training – also known as the four-minute workout – which consists of eight exercises performed in 20-second bursts, with 10-second breaks in between.

“So let’s say you’re doing jumping jacks for 20 seconds and so on, you’re doing high cardio with resistance training and that is, in my view, the most effective, particularly for people who do not want to be faced with the task of running for 30 minutes on a treadmill,” she explains.

Juliet’s programme will also demonstrate how to get the most benefit from a walk/jog, and includes resistance-training challenges, which she believes are especially essential for women in the fight against the early onset of osteoporosis.

“It could be as simple as doing tricep dips off a chair at home, or push-ups off the stairs,” she says.

“You lose muscle mass every year of your life and if you don’t do a little bit of training, you’ll just lose more. I don’t think there is an excuse for not looking after yourself in that regard.”

As for food, Juliet is not a fan of the D word. However, she believes that small lifestyle changes – such as asking for sauce on the side when eating out, or keeping nuts in the car to avoid service-station snacking – make a difference, though she sees Ireland’s drinking culture as a major challenge to weight loss.

“We all do it,” she says of enjoying a few too many glasses of wine at the weekend.

“But there are people who do it on a Friday and Saturday religiously, almost 50 weeks of the year.

“All it takes is to put on a couple of pounds every year and you’ve put on weight, and you’re creating habits for yourself that will last a lifetime.”

However, Juliet’s aim is not to make people feel guilty about their lifestyles, but to empower them to achieve their full potential. It’s telling that during her time with the Cork team, her manager, Eamon Ryan, would refer to sacrifices as “winning choices.”

And making the choice to put your fitness first is often the biggest step.

“Even if you don’t want to exercise, just trick yourself and say: ‘I’ll just do 15 minutes,’” she says.

“Because, invariably, when people say: ‘I won’t bother’, what goes hand-in-hand with ‘I won’t bother’ is a cup of tea and a bar.

“Guilt is an awful thing to have in terms of exercise, and the more guilt you feel, the more likely you are to reach for the bar or the Taytos, or not exercise at all. But, at the end of the day, exercise is about feeling good.”

Juliet Murphy health and fitness club in Ballincollig, Co Cork, specialises in personal and team training, high-energy studio classes like circuits, zumba, Rip 60 and more. Call 021-4810-830 or visit www.julietmurphyfitness.org

Steps to fitness

Assess your fitness

Your resting heart rate is an indicator of fitness. Take your pulse at your neck or wrist for one minute. It is probably best to do this before you get out of bed in the morning. Count the number of beats during that one minute. The lower your resting heart rate, the fitter you are. Do this every week during your new exercise regime, keeping a note of your BPM (beats per minute.)

Pound the pavement

Step one was the easy part, now it’s time to get fitter. You don’t have to be a slave to the treadmill to fit a good workout into your routine. With the stretch in the evenings, pull on a high-vis vest and hit the road.

To kick-start our fitness challenge, follow this plan two days this week, e.g. Monday and Thursday, to allow for rest days in between. On Saturday or Sunday, include what is called active rest, e.g. an hour-long cycle or walk or a 45-minute swim, where you are not pushing yourself to the limit, but you are still getting the benefit of being out and about.

Stretch it out

After any cardio/aerobic exercise, it is vital to stretch to avoid strain. We have put together five stretches that you will use over the coming weeks. Follow the list (right) and cut out to keep.

Eat smart

Let’s not get hung up on diets, but to give yourself a kick-start, cut out all “rubbish” (crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks) this week and reduce sugar in tea, coffee etc. If you want a healthier option, include some protein-rich snacks in your diet, such as a small handful of nuts and/or seeds (e.g. walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and Brazil nuts). Instead of a fizzy drink, choose a 8oz glass of low-fat milk. Also try to drink one and a half to two litres of water a day.

The stretches

1. Quad stretch: Lying on your right side, bring your left heel to your bum, creating a straight line between your knee, hip and shoulder. Hold for 12-20 seconds and repeat on opposite side.

2. Hamstring stretch: Lying on your back with your left leg out straight on the floor, bring your right knee towards your chest. For extra support, place your hands behind your knees as you extend your leg towards the ceiling. Hold for 12-20 seconds and repeat on opposite leg.

3. Hip flexors: Assuming a lunge position, bring your right leg out in front and drop your left knee to the floor, as if genuflecting. As your knee drops, slide your right leg out and raise your left hand up in the air. Hold for 12-20 seconds and repeat on opposite side.

4. Calf stretch: Pushing against a wall with both hands, bring your right leg in front and your left leg one metre behind, keeping both heels flat on the ground, toes pointed towards the wall. Now push towards the wall, bending your front knee and keeping your back leg straight. Hold for 12-20 seconds and repeat on opposite leg.

5. Achilles stretch: Staying with the wall, bring your chest towards the wall and bring the toe and sole of your right leg against the base of the wall, holding for 12-20 seconds. Repeat with opposite leg.

Next week

We introduce a high-intensity workout for those who are short of time. Visit www.farmersjournal.tv for videos of this week’s stretches and get in touch to let us know how you are getting on by emailing mmoynihan@farmersjournal.ie.