Fatter London Resolutions

Getting back to the gym after the Xmas break always feels horrendous.  Your gym kit feels tighter, you can’t stop recounting exactly how many “bad days” you had and your body behaves as if it’s never been asked to put one foot in the front of the other, every second on the treadmill feels like an age. 

January is miserable enough with its rotten weather, dark nights and nothing to look forward to until pancake day, it’s a time of the year when you really need to get back to the gym for that post exercise endorphin rush!  So the first thing you need to do is put December behind you; it doesn’t matter how many days you ate chocolate, how many hangovers you suffered, how many gym sessions you skipped, what matters is that you had fun and made the most of the festive season and now you’re ready to get back on it!

So here’s a few thoughts to help you put together some New Year fitness resolutions.  Firstly, train with a purpose.  Give yourself a goal for 2010, fitting back into your gym kit would be a good start,  but also think about your gym routine last year, did you achieve anything? Do you feel fitter than January 2009? If not why not?! This year make a difference; enter a race, take up a sport, learn a skill like martial arts or kettlebells. Whatever you decide make sure you’re not trekking to the gym just because you had a muffin with your (skinny) latte.

Secondly, shock your body. Our bodies are naturally lazy and need to be constantly challenged to see the results you want.  There’s a saying which I love from the Kettlebell community “keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” (John Maxwell). Essentially if the cross trainer, treadmill and spin class aren’t getting you toned and fit why do you keep doing it?

And finally have fun with your training! The best training regimes are the ones you stick to and continuously improve with, for this reason it’s so important that you enjoy it. And by this I don’t mean stay with what you like doing (and are probably good at!) as you still need to force yourself out of your comfort zone but do what you can to get a buzz from your workout, it will keep you motivated, stimulated and going back for more.

My first post Xmas workout was tough, the gym kit felt tight everywhere, even my trainers... can bunions gain weight? I set off for a run that left me gasping by the end of the driveway but it’s fine because I spent Xmas eating, drinking and having a fantastic time with friends and my family, now I just have to work it off!