New Year New Start – how to enjoy getting fit.

Tis the season to be singing up for the gym…. which is the message out there, however I believe, Tis the season to find some exercise you enjoy and CHANGE PACE.

elderly man jumping

Every year there is a rush of new year resolutions where people feel under pressure to lose the turkey weight and start afresh. There is so much choice these days of home exercise, gyms, cycling, walking, running, online work outs. Which do you choose? – The one you enjoy as it is the only one you will keep up.

One of the most important things to do is give yourself an aim, enter a race, set yourself a distance target, I would say set a weight on the scales and that might work for you but if you set yourself a fitness aim the weight may just look after itself.

Diet is one of the most overused words in the media, we all have a diet – it is what we eat, rather than look at a fad diet with astonishing results promised, try looking at your DIET and think about what and how much you eat at present and how much you need to maintain a healthy and fit weight. Most of us eat a balanced diet but we eat too much and have the snacks and alcohol in between. If you have a fitness aim it is easier to focus on the supporting strategies you need to achieve the goal. Try eating a quarter less of what you eat at present for 2 weeks and then reduce it by a quarter again, with in a month you will notice a big difference.

Have a good think – what exercise do you enjoy and that is the one for you, if you are not sure why not try something new for a few weeks to see if that works out. If you are short on time, training doesn’t have to last for hours, Joe Wicks is hitting the headlines at present and he does offer 20-30 minute HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training) work outs on the internet. They offer you the ability to train at home or in a park/ garden and after each session you will be out of breath, sweating and started your way to fitness.

A really good time to train is to fit it into your day. Do you walk your dog? Why not jog your dog? Start doing fast walking, change of pace, your dog will definitely keep up, after a week add in a jog walk and slowly build up perhaps do 3 days a week of the jogging and you will soon find you can run up to a few KM after a few weeks up to 5km. Can you run home from the train station? Can you get out at lunch time and get your work out done then. Try swimming  a couple of times a week early morning. If you would like a team sport or group training there are so many clubs which can be found on the internet, or why not try a local class with www.macsfitness.co.uk.

Find a buddy to train with, research shows a much higher continuation rate when you train with a friend or a team.

Fartlek training is the quickest way to get fit. This includes HIIT but also if you run, cycle, Fartlek training will mean you push your body and burn calories quickly. Change pace during each session and you will see results in weeks.

 

WHATEVER YOU DO ENJOY IT…